The Fated
by CidLover1
Summary: As AJ is working on making amends with a former enemy, a catastrophic event occurs and her life is changed. In addition, she loses recollection of the event and gains a supernatural strength. She works to cope with her new abilities and to uncover the mystery behind them. Rated M for future situations/blood/gore and swearing. Several Hetero/Homo Couples Represented.
1. Change of Heart

1…2…3! DING-DING-DING!

Once again, much to her own chagrin, AJ Lee was once again booked to lose to Nikki Bella, her personal nemesis. For the life of her, AJ could not recall whose idea it was to write up her losing the Diva's title to _her_. Since that night, AJ had saved her dislike for the storyline for when she got home to her husband, Phil, much to his displeasure. From losing matches against the Bellas to receiving "CM Punk" chants every time she graced the squared circle, she vented to him about every issue she did not agree with, and as a good husband he listened attentively.

Upon making it backstage on her way to the locker room, she ran into Brie Bella, whom had been waiting backstage for her sister to finish gloating about her victory over her tiny competitor. AJ did not particularly like either of the Bella Twins, though it was apparent that she hated Brie the least of the two. One of AJ's cornerstones was her being able to voluntarily smile in the face of anyone she did not care much for.

"Why, hello, Brie." AJ greeted with as much sarcasm as she could muster. Brie blinked slowly, knowing AJ was insincere with her greeting.

"I was actually hoping I would see you first before Nikki made her way back here." Brie replied. "I know you don't really like me very much, but I've been paying attention to how the Creative Team's been handling you lately and I wanted to say I don't agree with it at all. It's almost like they're punishing you for Phil's decision to leave how he did." As much as she hated to say it to herself, Brie nearly spoke as if she had been listening to one of her nightly conversations with her husband. She then felt Brie's hand on her shoulder, and her reflexes immediately told her to move. "I spoke with Stephanie about it, and she said she will work on getting you a better storyline once this one finishes out." AJ was beginning to hate Brie even less than she did. Though, one would not dare say that she liked the twin, lest they wished to instantly fall on AJ's bad side.

"Umm," she began. "Thanks, Brie, but I'm fine with how things are. If I don't like something, I'm perfectly capable of handling it on my own." AJ then reached up and patted Brie on her head twice as if she were a small dog. "You tried, Barbie." Brie nodded in acceptance.

"I just wanted to help because I actually do respect you as a wrestler, AJ." Before Brie could finish her thought, Nikki had come backstage and met AJ with a saucy smile.

"Well, if it isn't the _loser_, Misses CM Punk!" Nikki said, knowing AJ did not like being called that. "Enjoy your place on the food chain, little girl. The real Diva's Champion is here!" Nikki laughed as she walked away, Brie looking back at AJ before following her. AJ shook her head as her mind worked to process what had happened. She recalled Nikki saying something that was meant to offend her more than merely her presence, but she was not paying much attention to the annoying Diva. She then thought about the look Brie gave her as the two of them left. For a brief moment in time, AJ felt Brie was sincerely sorry for all that has happened to her and wanted to help her, but AJ almost immediately threw that theory out of her mind. She knew that after her match she was no longer required to remain in the arena, so she decided to leave. She called a cab as she walked down the hallway, then she bumped into the face of the company, John Cena. He was in the main event tonight, and looked as if he had been preparing although his match was not for another hour.

"Nice seeing you, AJ." John said, a bit of cheer in his husky voice. "Where are you off to?" AJ did not have a problem with John, but she normally tried to keep her conversations with him to a minimum simply because of who he was dating.

"My part in Raw is over, so I'm leaving for tonight." AJ replied. "Creative didn't plan anything else for me after my match with your girlfriend, so I really don't have much of a reason to be here." John noticed a bit of attitude in her voice.

"You normally stay through the entire show." He pointed out. "You alright?" The truth was, she wasn't. She was not going to tell John that, however.

"I'm fine." She lied. "I just need to get some rest. It's been a long day today." John raised his eyebrows at her.

"Alright then." John said. "I'll see you tomorrow. We have a few interviews to do." AJ smiled then turned to head out of the arena.

"See ya then, Johnny Boy!" AJ retorted before walking away from John. John then heard footsteps and a voice call out to him.

"Cena!" the voice, attached to a cameraman, called out to him. "You're on interview with Renee in five." John looked back to where AJ was standing before following the cameraman to the interview area of the arena.

Outside waiting on her cab, AJ pulled her phone to see that she had one unread text message and two missed calls. The text message was from Brie (she had given Brie her number after Brie lent her a few of her things when she had lost her luggage on one of the flights overseas). It read, "Hope you feel better soon. Text if you want." AJ debated on whether or not to reply. She didn't necessarily care for Brie, but she didn't hate her too much either. Brie had been one of the nicer Divas and the only Divas aside from Paige and Layla who reached out to her after her luggage went missing, and she also made sure AJ made it to the event by offering a ride of which she refused.

"Thank you, Brie." AJ texted back, deciding to nice and accept Brie's kindness just this once. After all, she did seem sincerely worried about AJ before she left.

AJ then looked to see who had called her. Paige had called her first then Phil called her immediately after. She sat down on the bench next to her and dialed Paige. The phone rang thrice.

"AJ?" Paige answered.

"Yup. It's me. Who else would it be?"

"Don't know." AJ could almost see Paige shrug her shoulders. "I saw you leaving and wanted to check on you. Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine, Paige. Promise. I just wanted to get some rest for tomorrow."

"Okay then. I'm glad you're alright. I'll text you in the morning. Good night, Little Demon." AJ almost laughed.

"Alright, alright. Good night, Ghost Face!" The cab arrived for AJ as she ended her conversation with Paige, and she signaled to the cab driver to open the trunk for her to put away her bags.

* * *

The show ended, and Dolph Ziggler had just made it to the backstage after working the main event with John Cena and Ryback against Seth Rollins, Kane, and Cesaro. Dolph grabbed a towel from the receptionist and dried his hair. He then felt a hard hand on his back. He turned to see the taller Swiss man grinning at him.

"Good match as always." Cesaro said to Dolph. "Let's hope we get to meet in the ring again." Cesaro nodded and walked to the locker rooms before Dolph could reply. The younger man blinked then raised his eyebrows.

"Man, Tony is weird as hell sometimes." Dolph said to himself before heading back to the locker rooms to shower.

After Dolph had showered and gotten ready to head to his hotel room, he met one of the receptionists.

"Hunter and Stephanie want to see you." The man said. Dolph nodded and went to see what his bosses wanted. He left his bags in the seat outside of the office, then walked in to see Hunter and Stephanie discussing something before they turned their attention to him.

"Dolph." Hunter greeted as he shook Dolph's hand. "Good job tonight. You looked great out there."

"Thank you." Dolph replied humbly. "Just doing what I love."

"We're glad to hear you say that." Stephanie said. "We just want to let you know that all your hard work isn't going unnoticed, Dolph. We were just waiting for the best moment to give you what you deserve." Stephanie then picked up a burgundy folder and handed it to Dolph. "We have big plans for you, Dolph. We love you, the fans love you, and everyone backstage loves you. We think it's time for you to become a true marquee player."

Dolph's eyes widened as he opened the folder to see what looked like a storyline. He skimmed through a few lines that stuck out to him, and blinked.

"We know it's a little risky for you." Hunter started. "With how you perform, though, I knew you would be perfect for the story." Dolph was almost shocked as he continued to read.

"I don't know what to say." Dolph replied. "I'm honored you want me to be in this considering-" Stephanie cut him off.

"Before you finish that, Dolph, we know about your history of concussions and injuries. Even with all that, you're out there giving it your all and putting on star performances. I mean, your charisma is unmistakable. We already pitched the story to John and he is welcoming the change in character." The first question that came to Dolph's mind was…

"How does Mister McMahon feel about this?" Hunter smiled from cheek to cheek.

"Vince decided it was best to finally hand the company over to us." He told Dolph. "We are in complete control now, and we want to do things a bit differently."

"We want what the fans want." Stephanie added. "The fans want change, then that's what we are giving them."

Dolph was speechless. The storyline called for Dolph to challenge Cena at the Summer Slam Pay-Per-View event to a match for the WWE Championship Title, a match made to bounce off the momentum between the two men. As weeks pass, Cena was to cheer Dolph on during his matches while Dolph did the same during Cena's. John would, however, become a bit worried as Dolph gained heavy momentum. Two weeks before Summer Slam, John would cut a chilling promo finally addressing the boos he received while at the same time hyping up his match with Dolph Ziggler. Dolph would exchange words with Cena. Cena would then extend his hand to Dolph, only to surprise him with an Attitude Adjustment, and cementing the day Cena turned Heel. To work alongside John Cena during this nearly legendary moment completely humbled him.

"I really don't know what to say." Dolph repeated, still somewhat speechless after reading the script in its entirety. "This is big stuff."

"Right." Hunter said. "This is a historic moment. After almost a decade, Cena will be the bad guy everyone has wanted him to be, and we couldn't think of any other full-time Superstar who could work that story over with him like you could." Dolph did not have to think of his answer to Hunter and Stephanie's proposal.

"I accept." He said. "I'll do it." Stephanie clapped her hands together.

"We know you'll make us happy, Dolph. Take that with you, read over it, then come back to us when you are ready to sign the contract."

"Yes Ma'am." Dolph replied before shaking Hunter's hand and hugging Stephanie. "I'll call you tomorrow afternoon."

"Good." Hunter said. "Have a good night. We'll see you tomorrow." Dolph nodded then walked out of the office, leaving the two bosses to themselves. Stephanie looked over to her husband.

"Are we making the right decision with him, Hunter?" she asked. Hunter nodded.

"We said we would do our best to listen to the fans. Besides, Ziggler's good at what he does. It's about time he gets a little recognition." Stephanie thought for a moment then smiled.

"You're right. He is good." Hunter looked as his watch.

"Well, Steph. Let's get dinner before we go get the kids." Hunter kissed Stephanie on the lips gently.

"Yes. Let's."

* * *

AJ removed her bags of the trunk of the cab, paid the fee, and went inside the hotel to meet the receptionist.

"Good evening." AJ said. "I was just checking in with you again." The man smiled.

"You know," he began. "You don't have to check in with me every time you leave and come back."

"I know, but you look bored every time I come here, so I try to brighten up your time a bit by saying hello."

"Well then." The man was humbled by AJ's kindness. "Thank you, Misses Brooks." AJ rolled her eyes.

"Just April's fine. Remember?"

"Right. Forgive me. Your room is ready, of course, and Mist-" The man stopped before he finished to correct himself. "Phil… is waiting for you." AJ smiled again.

"Thank you…" she looked at his name tag. "Patrick. Have a good night. I'll see you next time." She walked away towards the elevators down the hallway.

While in the elevator, AJ began ruminating about her current position in the company. Since she returned to work after her wedding, the Creative team had not been using her as much. The times they did use her in a storyline, it was often a story with no structure or anything of interest. She was often a shadow for the other Divas, including Nikki Bella. AJ was beginning to feel worthless to the company she cherished so dear. Before she could think any longer, the elevator stopped. AJ stepped out and headed to her room. Normally, Phil left the door open for her. Tonight, however, the door was closed, so AJ pulled her card key out and opened it to find Phil sprawled across the large bed sleeping while the TV watched him attentively.

"Someone had a long day." She said to herself as she laid her bags down by the door. The noise made by the bags hitting the floor woke Phil from his sleep. He sat up slowly to find AJ sitting at the edge of the bed taking her shoes off.

"I wasn't expecting you back yet." Phil said to AJ. "I wanted to get a nap in before ya told me about your day." AJ stopped what she was doing to turn around enough to look at him out the corner of her eye with a wiry look on her face.

"Was that supposed to be funny?" she asked. Phil put on his signature half grin.

"No. It was supposed to be truthful." AJ turned all the way around to face him.

"I can't help it if a lot of things at work bother me now, Phil." Phil sat up closer to her and crossed his legs.

"If ya love it there, then don't sweat the small stuff." He said. "Every job has its issues, Babe. If you love what you do, then suck it up, get out there, and fight. Right?" He stretched his arms out in an attempt to search for a response from AJ.

"Okay, okay." AJ said. "You're right. You're always right."

"This isn't news to you is it?"

"No. I just needed reassurance, I guess." AJ thought for a moment before mentioning her next topic. "Brie's been really nice to me as of late."

"That flat-chested Bella?" AJ narrowed her eyes a bit before answering.

"Yes, Phil. Her."

"She doesn't seem so bad. She's not as bad as her sister, Honeydew Bella, though." AJ nearly laughed at Phil's nickname for Nikki.

"Honeydew Bella, Phil? I mean, seriously?"

"That's all she's got." AJ huffed.

"Well, 'Honeydew Bella' also has the title I worked my entire life to get!"

"To be fair, Babe, no one's a champ in the WWE for too long."

"So says the man who was WWE champion for over a full calendar year." Phil nodded.

"Point taken, but my point is you're gonna fall some days, April. Usually, it's when you're dealing with somebody ya don't like too much like Honeydew Bella. Ya gotta take back what's yours and show them that it was meant for you and only you."

"You're right." AJ said quickly. "I should just kill Nikki Bella and get it over with."

"That's my little demon." Phil said after laughing at AJ's retort. She kissed him gently.

"Seriously, though. You're right. I'm in a business that changes like my character changes her moods. I shouldn't have gotten so attached to that title belt. It did feel good to be on top of the Diva's Division."

"To me," Phil said as softly as could muster. "You always will be the number one Diva." His compliment made AJ her beam with joy. All she could do was hug him tightly.

"I love you so much." She said. "What am I gonna do about Brie, though? I mean, I don't like her, but I don't hate her. She's been so nice to me." Phil shrugged his shoulders.

"Why don't you talk to her?" AJ's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Really, Phil?" she asked. "Talk to Brie Bella? Are you kidding me?" A blank, unreadable stare fell onto Phil's face.

"No." He said simply, AJ's eyes narrowing at the comment. "What? I don't see what harm it could do. Brie's really trying to do the right thing by you, Babe. Give her a chance. You already said you didn't hate her."

AJ hated for Phil to be right but he was. Brie really had not given her a reason to hate her as of late other than being a Bella twin, and she had also been trying to make amends with AJ. AJ simply brushed her off for being associated with Nikki through blood.

"You're right." AJ said. "I hate it, but you're right."

"What are you gonna do?" AJ thought for a moment.

"I'm gonna call her right now. It's not too late right?" Phil shrugged his shoulders again.

"Don't know, Babe." He replied. "Only one way to find out." AJ narrowed her eyes at him before pulling her phone out of her pocket and dialing Brie's number. It rang three times.

"Hello?" It was Brie.

"Hi Brie."

"AJ? I honestly didn't think you'd contact me at all, much less call me."

"I know, I know. I admit, I haven't really been the nicest to you even though you've been so nice to me. I wanted to say thank you."

"Anytime, AJ. I'm sorry for being so mean to you when you first got here. I was just trying to stay in character so Creative would actually take me seriously."

"I understand you there." AJ then had an idea. "What are you doing right now? Is Nikki with you?"

"She's with John tonight." Brie replied. "I'm here in my hotel room with Bryan."

"How far are you from the soup place downtown?" Phil raised his eyebrow at AJ's conversation with Brie.

"I'm not sure." Brie answered. "I think I'm about five minutes or so from it."

"Let's meet there, and bring Bryan. We can all have some Italian Wedding soup."

"That sounds great, AJ."

"What hotel are you staying in? We'll come and get you." Phil mouthed 'We will?' after AJ spoke.

"We're right next to the arena. It's the larger hotel with the parking lot. We can meet you downstairs if you like."

"Sounds great. We'll be there in a few minutes."

"Can't wait." AJ ended the call, and turned around to see Phil glaring daggers into her.

"What?" she said innocently. "You said I should make amends, right? That's what I'm doing."

"Right now, though?" Phil asked. "This couldn't wait?"

"Oh, come on, Phil. You make it seem like you don't want to go."

"Good, because I don't." AJ huffed.

"Well, you're going. I can't go by myself. I'd be a third wheel."

"Bryan's only going because you told Brie to bring him."

"Well, Brie couldn't leave him there by himself, Babe. He'll get lonely and stuff." AJ was beginning to believe she would not win the argument.

"They're married, April. They see each other every day. Bryan would have been fine with Brie meeting you for soup tonight." Phil paused for a moment. "Yeah, about that…"

"I couldn't think of anything else, Phil." AJ replied with a defeated look on her face. Phil hated seeing her upset, so he tried to console her.

"Well," He started. "You're doing a good thing. That's good enough, I guess. I'll go." AJ brightened up almost instantly.

"Yay!" AJ yelped. "Get dressed. We're leaving now."

"Alright, alright."

* * *

In their room, Brie and Daniel Bryan were getting prepared for their night with AJ and Phil. Daniel was sitting on the couch lacing up his boots while Brie was in the bathroom brushing her hair.

"You know, Brie." Daniel began. "I think it's nice of April to invite us out tonight. I never thought she liked you much."

"Well," Brie said as she continued to brush her hair. "She had every right to be upset with me. I mean, even though I was just practicing my character, I wasn't the nicest person to her. I'm just glad we're on better terms now. I really do appreciate her work."

Even after marrying her and seeing who she really was, Daniel could not help but be amazed at how different Brie was from her sister, Nikki. While her sister sought after fame and fortune when the day ended (much like her character on screen), Brie looked to be nice to everyone and make sure everyone was in a good mood around her. Brie caught Daniel staring at her and smiled.

"What do you think?" Brie asked as she twirled so Daniel could see her at all angles. She was wearing a pair of blue jean capris, a black blouse, and a pair of black sneakers. She decided to wear her hair down.

"Beautiful." Daniel said as he pulled Brie close and kissed her. She smiled.

"Let's go meet April." She said to him. "They should be down there waiting on us by now." They both headed for the door. Daniel opened it to let Brie out.

"After you." He said, making Brie giggle before she walked out.


	2. Ground Zero

The quaint little place was full for the time of night. However, it was Cesaro's favorite place to have dinner when he was visiting New York City, and he made it his duty to visit at least once every time he was in town. People were having various teas, soups, and salads at the tables around him, and he seemed to be waiting for someone. He had been waiting for quite some time, and the mug of tea he bought while he was waiting was getting cold. The waitress stopped by his table again to see if he wanted to order something from the menu.

"No, thank you." Cesaro said. He then stood up from his chair and put on his most charming smile. "I don't want to hold up a table. I'll have a seat outside if possible." The waitress smiled at him.

"Not a problem, Mister Castagnoli." She said. "Choose any table you like. I'll be by to check on you momentarily." Cesaro nodded, and after the waitress left he began to watch the cars and people pass him by on the street nearest to him. After a few moments, the waitress stopped by his table.

"Would you like some more tea, Mister Castagnoli?" she asked. Cesaro nodded.

"Please." He replied. "Also, if you don't mind, call me Claudio."

"Okay, Claudio. I'll get your tea to you right away." She walked back inside the building to retrieve the tea. Claudio stood up to readjust his shirt, then sat back down and continued watching the world go by in front of him for several minutes without noticing the waitress sit the cup of warm tea on the table. He then felt a heavy hand slap the back of his head. He was pulled from his mind back to reality, and it angered him almost instantly.

"What the f-" Before he could finish, he turned to see a tall, toned man grinning at him. Cesaro's expression changed from angry to relieved, though the sting from the hit was still existent. "Why'd you hit me, Orton?"

"You were daydreaming, Chrome Dome!" The man identified as Randy Orton replied. "I tried to ask you if anyone was sitting here with you. I tapped your shoulder and everything. I didn't know what else to do, so I slapped you. I thought about punching you, but that would've caused a scene." Cesaro nodded.

"Fair enough." He said before sitting back down, still rubbing the back of his head. "That still hurt, though." Randy shook his head.

"Whatever man. Is anybody sitting with ya?" Cesaro shook his head reluctantly. "I'll sit with you then, unless you're waiting on somebody." Cesaro lowered his head.

"Feel free." Cesaro said. "He won't show up." Randy raised an eyebrow as he wondered who Cesaro was talking about.

"Yet you're still here waiting? That don't make sense, man."

"I know that. Still, I get my hopes up." Randy rolled his eyes and nodded.

"You're one weird dude, Chrome Dome."

"I know. I hear it all the time." Randy felt a sting in Cesaro's response.

"Whoa. I'm only joking with you, man. I didn't mean anything by it."

"Don't worry about it." Randy shrugged then looked around to find their waitress. Cesaro eyed him for a brief moment before turning his attention to the full cup of tea.

"If I didn't notice the waitress come by," he thought to himself. "Then I must have been thinking far too hard." Cesaro then heard Randy call out to him.

"Yo!" Cesaro jumped slightly making Randy shake his head. "What's up with you, man? Who the hell are you waitin' on that has you so damn distracted?"

"Just a friend of mine." Randy took Cesaro's response as a hint that Cesaro did not want Randy to know who he was waiting for.

"Alright, man." Randy said. "I can take a hint. He must be one hell of a friend."

"I'm starting to think otherwise. Tonight will be the third time he stood me up."

"Well, hell." Randy sat up in his chair. "I'm here now, so don't worry about that other dude, whoever he is. Now, drink your cold ass tea." As soon as Randy spoke, the waitress arrived with the pastrami sandwich he ordered while Cesaro was distracted earlier. "Just in time!"

"Hope you enjoy it." The waitress said before looking to Cesaro. "Did your tea get cold on you? I can reheat it if you want." Cesaro shook his head.

"No, thank you." Cesaro replied. "It's fine. I'll have it the way it is now." The woman nodded then walked away to tend to the other customers.

* * *

"Wow!" AJ said as she looked at the small shop filled with people. "This place is busy for this time of night."

"We can go somewhere else." Brie suggested. "There's a bistro about a block down the road from here. It's open for another couple of hours." AJ narrowed her eyes as she looked back at the building.

"Yeah." Phil said. "Let's just go there. We won't have to dropkick anyone for seats."

"No." AJ blurted out, making the other three look at her. "We are going in here to get soup and tea and that's final." She then looked to the side of the building and saw tables outside. "Look. There are some seats. We can sit there." AJ walked inside and left Phil, Daniel, and Brie outside.

"Is she always like that?" Brie asked Phil.

"Yup." He replied as he shook his head. "Just do what she says and everything will be fine." Brie and Daniel look at each other.

"Well," Brie started. "I do want some of the tomato veggie soup I see on the picture in the window."

"That does look good." Daniel added.

"Come on then." Phil said while he was headed inside. "I'm not getting in trouble for keeping April waiting too long." The three followed their smaller friend inside of the crowded bistro. Brie began looking for AJ in the crowd and found her sitting at a table in the outside seating areas. She pointed her out to Daniel and Phil.

"There she is." Brie said. "Right over there." The three of them walked over to sit down.

"Nice of you to finally join me." AJ popped at them. "I was beginning to think you all ditched me."

"Yeah okay, Babe." Phil said before sitting down next to her. "Did ya order yet?"

"Nope. I did get a glass of water, though. The girl said she'd be back to get your drinks and take our orders."

* * *

Randy looked up from eating his sandwich to notice Cesaro not eating his food.

"You eating or are you going to let that get cold, too?" Randy asked him. Cesaro tilted his soup bowl to show Randy it was empty, and Cesaro raised his eyebrows. "Damn. What the hell did you have?"

"I had the Italian Wedding Soup." Cesaro replied simply. "It's great."

"I'll try some next time." Cesaro grew a sense of confusion.

"Next time?" Randy put on one of his smirks.

"You're weird, Chrome Dome, but you're good company. Yeah, I'd come here with ya next time we're here in town." Cesaro wanted to grin, but instead decided to use his television personality to reply.

"You're more than welcome." Cesaro said. "I would want to hang with me, too, if I were you." Randy did exactly what he thought he would- Randy laughed.

"Ya got jokes, huh?" Cesaro shrugged his shoulders, a smug grin on his face.

"I guess I do. You care to retort?" Randy laughed.

"I got nothing, man. Just wait, though. I'm gonna be ready for your ass next time!"

"Alright, Randy. If you say so." Cesaro stood up and grabbed the receipt left by the waitress. "I'll pay this time."

"Thanks man." Randy said before standing up. "I got the next one." The two men walked up to the register.

"I gotta run, Tony." Randy said before handing Cesaro a piece of paper. "Hit my cell when ya get a chance." Cesaro smiled as he paid the cashier.

"Will do, Randy." He said. "Get to your room safe." Randy waved before heading outside.

"Thank you, Claudio." The woman said as she put the money in the register. "Was that who you were waiting on?"

"No, Annette." Cesaro replied. "He is a co-worker. He happened to be stopping in and decided to sit with me for whatever reason." Annette nodded.

"Gotcha. Well, maybe he likes you, Claudio." Cesaro laughed at her.

"I'm not looking for him to like me, Annette. It was pretty nice of him to keep me company. He had never really said much to me before, though, so it came as a surprise."

* * *

Paige called AJ again to make sure she was alright, but she didn't answer. The Diva decided to go to her hotel and check on her. She walked in the hotel and was met by the receptionist.

"Hi." Paige greeted with her thickened British accent. "I'm looking for April Brooks. Would you be able to contact her room for me?"

"She actually isn't in." The receptionist told Paige. "She and the man she is staying with stepped out some time ago."

"That must be Phil." She said to himself. She then smiled at the man and asked if he knew where they went.

"I'm sorry, but no."

"Alright. I'll try and call her again. Thank you." Paige turned around to walk back out of the hotel and continue looking for AJ. Her phone then began ringing. She pulled it out to see that it was AJ calling.

"AJ!" Paige answered. "I've been trying to call you. Are you alright?"

"Yes, pasty bitch." The little latina replied. "I'm okay. I'm out having a late dinner at the bistro on 19th. You should come. We have one more seat at our table. It's me, Phil, Brie, and Bryan." Paige doubled back.

"Brie? As in, Brie Bella? I thought you hated the Bellas."

"I know, Saray-Ray. Brie isn't that bad, though. I think Bryan's rubbing off on her, but she has been nice to me and I wanted to try to return the favor." Paige blinked once.

"Phil suckered into inviting her out." She said, her British accent thicker than initially. "Didn't he?"

"Yes and no."

"Okay, okay. I'll be there in a few minutes. I'm leaving your hotel now."

"Alright. I'll order for you. Pastrami on Rye, extra cheese?"

"You know me like a headless teddy bear." Paige said playfully. "Why are we not dating?"

"I don't know. I think it has something to do with you having a snatch."

"They do make strap-ons, you know."

"Find a good one and I'll divorce Phil and take you as my husband."

"Wonderful. I'll order one tomorrow." Paige heard AJ laughing on the other line.

"Whatever. Hurry up!" AJ ended the call, leaving Paige to continue to her car so she could meet with AJ and the others.

* * *

"Saraya?" Phil asked AJ, referencing the call she had just ended.

"Yup. She's coming to fill the empty seat next to me." Daniel Bryan smiled.

"It'll be good to see her again." He said. Brie frowned a bit.

"She doesn't care for me too much." Brie explained. "Will it be okay for me and Bryan to be here?"

"Of course it will." Phil said. "Saraya is nicer than people think she is. Just wait until she gets here."

"He's right." AJ agreed. "She's funny, too. I wish Celeste could be here, too. Now that would be a great time, Brie!" AJ stood from her seat. "I have to go the little demon's room. I shall return."

AJ worked her way through the crowd of people to head towards the bathroom. Before she opened the door, however, she heard a man scream. Almost instantly after that moment, a gargantuan booming sound filled the air, followed by a larger force that knocked AJ backwards into the bathroom with such force that the door had broken down on impact and knocked her nearly unconscious. AJ heard the crowded bistro filled with chaotic screams, and used what energy she had left to try to crawl out of the bathroom. The impact from the blast proved to be too much for her, however, and she fell back to the ground on her stomach. As she drifted into unconsciousness, AJ felt someone lift her and carry her somewhere, but her senses were too weak to use. Her eyes shut completely, and the commotion ceased.


	3. Healing

**A/N:** I just noticed that I haven't greeted you all, my readers and fellow writers! This is my first Wrestling Fic, so criticism is great! I'm doing the best I can with everyone's personalities, so forgive me if I get someone wrong or they do something out-of-character. I think I have AJ down aside from her being nice to Brie Bella. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this. I'll be working to update as frequently as possible.

The life crept back into AJ's body like a gentle ocean wave. She gently opened her eyes; they were still sore from the exposure to the blast. As they adjusted to the light, she began to scan the area as an attempt to recognize her surroundings. Her hearing began to return as her vision cleared, and she noticed a stand next to the bed in which she laid. It became clear to her that she was in a hospital room. The stand next to her was an IV stand, and there was a large heart rate monitor behind it. She moved to turn her head slightly to see the open walkway with doctors and nurses walking by her room every so often. She was then able to set up and turn her head in the other direction to see a familiar woman seemingly sleeping in the visitor chair. After looking closer, AJ recognized her, and she opened her mouth to speak.

"Saraya…" She said, her voice still weak but audible enough for Paige to hear her. Paige looked over to see AJ looking at her, and she nearly leapt out of the chair.

"AJ!" she shouted, making AJ wince. "Oh, sorry. I forgot about your hearing. I'm just glad you're awake."

"Don't worry about it, my Casper-looking crumpet." AJ said, making Paige laugh.

"You still got your wicked humor spikes, though." Another woman walked in holding two cups of coffee. AJ's face lit up when she saw her.

"Kaity." AJ reached her arms out as Celeste "Kaitlyn" Bonin walked over and hugged her with the coffee still in her hand.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Celeste said she let go of AJ and handed her one of the cups. "I flew in the minute I heard about what happened." Something about what Celeste said made AJ slightly nervous.

"What happened?" she asked. "Why am I here?"

"AJ." Paige began. "There was an explosion at the bistro you were in. I was driving about a mile down the road when I heard it and saw people racing out. I called 911 immediately."

"What? Is everyone okay?" Her question made Paige and Celeste give each other a worried look. Before they could answer, the three girls were then joined by the doctor in charge of AJ, Triple H and Stephanie, and two male detectives.

"Misses Brooks." The doctor called out. "Good to see you awake."

"We were worried about you, April." Triple H added. AJ grew worried.

"Where's Phil?" she asked.

"Phil's fine, AJ." Paige replied. "He's asleep in the lobby. I told him to go out and get some fresh air. He was in here the entire time after they released him. PJ is out in the lobby, too." A feeling of relief swept over AJ, though the feeling was brief as she began to worry about her other two guests.

"Brie and Bryan." She said. "Are they okay?" The room fell silent, making her worry more than she already did. Finally, the taller detective decided to speak.

"Bryan Danielson is deceased, April." He said, bringing AJ to the edge of tears. "From what we saw at the scene, he used his body to shield his wife, Brianna Danielson, from the debris. They were both struck by one of the metal tables. However, Bryan was the one to take the force of the impact to his head. He was announced dead at the scene. Brianna was unharmed."

AJ could not believe what she heard. She immediately began to lament Daniel Bryan's passing and could not even begin to imagine Brie's reaction. Stephanie handed AJ a tissue.

"We released the information two days ago and held a ceremony in his honor yesterday." Stephanie told AJ. "I still can't believe it myself. Everyone is still in mourning." As her tears stopped, AJ began to wonder.

"How long was I asleep?"

"You were out for six days." The doctor told her.

"Six days?"

"Yes. Remarkably, the only injuries you sustained were a bruised wrist and a small gash on the back of your head. How are you feeling?"

"Physically, I feel fine." The doctor then proceeded to carefully remove the IV from her arm.

"I'm glad to hear it. We will go ahead and run a few checks and tests then we will clear you for release, Misses Brooks."

"Thank you." AJ tried for a smile, though she knew it was for naught. The shorter detective then stepped up to the bed.

"Miss Bevis, Misses Bonin." He said. "May I kindly ask you two to step out for a moment?" The women nodded then hugged AJ before heading to the lobby to talk with Phil. The doctor stepped out to begin the testing, and the detective closed the door behind him.

"Miss Brooks. I'm Detective Ross." The shorter man said before pointing to his taller counterpart. "This is Detective Hunter. We have a few questions for you regarding the incident last week." AJ furrowed her brows.

"I can't remember anything." AJ told them. "Honest. I didn't even remember how I got here. Saraya told me what she knew about it a few minutes ago."

"What did she tell you?" Hunter asked.

"Just that there was a big explosion at the place I was eating and that she was the one who called 911. Why?"

"Well, we believe there may have been foul play." Ross told her. "We've been questioning the survivors to see if it was a possible homicide attempt. If that is ruled out, then we have to look into acts of terrorism."

"How many casualties were there?" AJ asked.

"A total of twelve fatalities, and ten additional people were injured."

"Claudio is in the room next to you." Stephanie added. "The doctors say he suffered a concussion and a broken collarbone." AJ blinked. She had not known Cesaro was eating at the same bistro as her. She took a mental note of the news.

"So just so we have this on record, Misses Brooks," Ross began as he pulled out a tape recorder. "You say you have no current recollection of the events that took place the night of the explosion?"

"That's correct." AJ replied.

"We understand that you have suffered mild head trauma that could be the cause of your memory loss. Correct?"

"That's correct."

"Will you contact us with any information about the incident should it return to your memory?"

"Yes I will." With that response, Ross stopped the tape recorder and put it back in the suitcase he was carrying.

"Thank you, Misses Brooks. We will be in touch." AJ nodded as both of the men left the room.

"April." Triple H began. "If you need time off to recover, take as much time as you need." AJ violently shook her head, though she ceased as a brief shot of pain hit her forehead.

"If the doctor says I'm clear," she started. "Then I'm going to wrestle. As tough as this is, I have to get back out there. It won't do me any good sitting around grieving. Bryan would say the same thing if the role was reversed, and so would the rest of the roster. I know it."

Stephanie took a deep breath. As she looked at AJ, she commended her courage and dedication as she knew that this would devastate the average person. Though, even with the amount of determination AJ possessed, Stephanie could not help but worry for her safety.

"I admire your dedication to the company and to the fans, AJ." Stephanie started. "However, I don't think it's wise for you to return so quickly after being hospitalized for a week." AJ sat up completely, her strength returning to her rather quickly.

"Stephanie, I want to thank both of you for being here supporting me, but I also have millions of other people to thank for their support. What better way than to give them what they want, and that's me on their screens, right? My fans love me as much as I love them, and they deserve to know that I'm okay and still the little fighter I've always been." Triple H and Stephanie looked at each other before looking back at AJ.

"Alright, April." Triple H said. "We will allow you back in the ring only after we receive notice from your doctor that you are medically cleared to return." AJ smiled.

"Fair enough, Boss Man." The large man leaned over to hug AJ before stepping out, and Stephanie followed suit. The two met AJ's doctor just as they stepped out.

"We were just talking about AJ's return to the ring." Triple H told him. The doctor blinked once before looking at AJ.

"Well," he started. "She is medically cleared as of right now. However, with all that's happened I personally don't recommend that."

"It's alright." AJ chimed in. "I will be fine. I can't let all of that keep me down." The doctor nodded.

"Very well then. As I said she is medically cleared. I will just need her signature as well as yours, Mister Levesque, on a few documents. You will then be free to leave, Misses Brooks."

"Thank you." AJ said.

"Thanks, Doctor." Triple H added as he shook the doctor's hand.

* * *

Celeste and PJ, Paige, and Phil (now awake) were joined by a smiling Triple H and Stephanie. As AJ emerged from behind them wearing a red tank top and dark denim jeans that Paige had gotten her, she was greeted with a loving embrace from her husband.

"I was so fucking worried about you, April!" Phil all but shouted as he held his petite wife.

"I'm okay, Phil." AJ said to him as his hug loosened. "I promise." AJ then saw the healing cut above Phil's eye. "Looks like someone snuck one on you there." She touched the wound, and Phil winced slightly.

"Hey, hey." Phil harped. "It's still a little sore."

"Sorry." AJ said moments before prodding the scar again, causing Phil to suck air in through his teeth.

"You're lucky I love you." PJ looked at Triple H.

"Is she free to go?" he asked.

"The doctor just released her." Triple H replied. "She's free to leave now."

"That's great." AJ turned to face her bosses.

"Thank you for being here." AJ said as she hugged them both.

"Anytime, April." Stephanie said. "We have a flight to catch. Are you sure this is what you want?" AJ nodded. "Alright. We'll see you tomorrow then." The couple left AJ and her friends by themselves.

"You ready to leave?" Phil asked her.

"Not yet." She replied. "I want to talk with someone here. I won't be long."

* * *

Cesaro laid in the hospital bed motionless not because he could not move, but more because he did not want to. Hooked up to the heart rate monitor, he stared up at the ceiling in what seemed like a daze. His head and chest were bandaged, and it still hurt for him to breathe deep. Cesaro took a breath, then felt a presence in the doorway. He turned his head slightly to see AJ staring at him.

"April." Cesaro said. "How are you?"

"I should be asking you that same question, Claudio." She replied as she went to sit by his bed. "I had no clue you were at the bistro when all this happened. How are you feeling?"

"I'm a bit banged up." Cesaro hissed in pain as he took in an involuntarily deep breath. "They said I got a concussion and a fractured collarbone. Hairline fracture, though."

"Ah okay." AJ then shut her eyes. "I know we don't talk much, Claudio, but I'm glad you made it out alive and barely hurt." She went to hug him, but remembered his fracture and decided to hug him around his waist. AJ then felt Cesaro twitch. "You okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?" Cesaro laughed lightly.

"No, AJ. Don't tell anyone, but I'm a little ticklish on my sides." AJ could not help but laugh a little.

"Now that's funny." She said. "I would have never thought you, of all people, were ticklish. Don't worry, though. Your secret is safe with me. Were you with someone at the bistro?" Cesaro shut his eyes slowly.

"I was initially waiting for someone, but Randy showed up and sat with me."

"Randy?" AJ was genuinely surprised. "As in, Orton?"

"Yes."

"Is he okay?"

"He left before the explosion happened. We finished eating and I was at the register paying when it happened."

"Wow. Randy Orton liked the bistro, too. Who'da thought." AJ then pulled her phone out of her pocket and grabbed Cesaro's phone off of the small counter sitting on the other side of the bed.

"What are you doing?" Cesaro asked.

"I'm putting my number in your phone," AJ said. "…and dialing it so I have yours so you can call or text me whenever you want to. Would it be okay if I visit you?"

"You want to visit me? Why?"

"Well, I want to talk with you. You seem pretty nice and you have a pretty smile, even though you look super mean sometimes." Cesaro laughed.

"Thank you, AJ." He said. "I appreciate it."

"Anytime, Claudio. I have to go now, but I'll be back tomorrow to see how you're doing. Feel free to text me whenever you want to." Cesaro smiled and waved his good arm to say farewell. AJ turned around to head back to the lobby, leaving the man to his musings.

Cesaro had begun thinking about Randy the moment AJ mentioned him. He could not figure out why Randy decided to sit with him, though his company was welcomed. He ruled out the taller man being attracted to him immediately due to the fact he knew Randy was married with a wonderful family, and he hated to think that Randy simply say with him because he thought Cesaro was lonely. Whatever the reason, Cesaro was grateful. He felt himself drifting to sleep and decided to shut his eyes and welcome the slumber.

* * *

After hearing of Daniel Bryan's passing, Brie decided to take a leave of absence from the WWE to figure out whether or not she wanted to continue in the business without her husband. Her home was filled with flowers and cards of encouragement from people sending their condolences, and Brie spent most of her time after the funeral staring at all of the gifts and mourning her fallen husband. She had gotten many text messages from co-workers trying to check on her, but she had not responded to any of them. That morning, she received a message from AJ. She was reluctant to answer, but ultimately decided to call her. The phone rang twice.

"Good morning, Brie." AJ greeted. "I just wanted to call you and see how you were doing."

"I'm doing alright, April." Brie answered. "I'm still in shock, I guess."

"I heard about Bryan. I just wanted to tell you that if you ever need anything, I'll be here." Brie nearly broke down again as she listened to AJ.

"Thank you." Brie paused for a moment. "How are you feeling? You sound well."

"I'm alright. Just a few bumps and knocks. Nothing too big. I'm headed back to the ring tonight. I'll probably be facing Nikki. Has she called you?" Brie nodded instinctively.

"She did. She even showed up at the funeral to support me."

"Really? I guess she isn't as bad as I thought she was."

"Well, she has her moments when she lets her character get in the way, but she is a good person."

"I'll Bo-lieve it when I can finally see Cena." Brie chuckled at AJ's remark.

"Nice to know you haven't lost your sense of humor." She responded. "Though, AJ. You don't think it's a little too soon to be heading back to work after all this?"

"Everyone's telling me the same thing, Brie, but I feel great. I actually just left the gym with Phil."

"How's Phil?" Brie asked. "Is he alright?"

"He's got a super hot scar on his left eye now. As far as I know, nothing else is broken."

"Glad to hear that. Tell him I said hello."

"I sure will. Brie, did you know that Claudio and Randy were in the bar, too?"

"I found out two days after the incident. That's when they told me that you were in a coma. I'm sorry I couldn't be there when you woke up. There was just so much going on and I couldn't tear myself away."

"It's alright, Brie. I understand. Just make sure you visit Claudio, though. He was in there as long as I was and, from the looks of it, I was the only one to visit him."

"That's awful. Well, I'll stop by and see him when I get a chance to break away from all this."

"I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

"Well, I'll let you go. I'm sure you have a lot to catch up on. I'll be in touch."

"Okay, Brie. When are you coming back?" It was a hard question to which Brie still had no answer.

"I honestly don't know if I'm coming back, AJ." She finally said. "I'm not sure how I'm going to be with Bryan gone."

"Well, like I said, if you need me just call me. I'll try my best."

"Thanks, AJ. I'll talk with you later. Bye."

"Bye, Brie. Take care." Brie ended the call and laid her phone on the bed. She then walked to the closet that still had Daniel Bryan's things in it, opened it, and stared at the clothes and shoes inside as if mentally fighting the memories they brought back to her. She shut her eyes before closing the closet.


	4. A Fall Unwritten

**A/N: This one's a little long, but things begin to pick up here. I hope you all enjoy, and thanks for reading.**

It was just shy of three hours away from the live taping of Raw, and the locker rooms were beginning to fill with the Superstars and Divas attending. The atmosphere was different and had been since Daniel Bryan's death. One of the superstars who seemed to be the most affected was Dolph, who saw Daniel as a leader for those who did not quite fit the archetype of the stars made by the company. When he heard the news, he immediately called Brie to check on her and even offered to help with the funeral. He ultimately decided to get back in the ring because he felt that it would be what Daniel would have done. As he was lacing up his boots for the event, the locker room cleared out. Dolph looked up to see Cena standing next to him. John reached his hand out to Dolph for a handshake, and Dolph shook it.

"What's going on, John?" Dolph asked as John and he broke the shake.

"Just wanted to check on you, Nick." John answered. "I know you took all this stuff pretty hard."

"I'm good, man. We got a show to put on and I need to play my part."

"Alright. If you need anything, just let me know. I'll help you out." Dolph nodded.

"Thanks, John." He said. "I'll see you out there tonight."

"You got it." John left Dolph in the locker room to finish getting ready for the night. Dolph thought to himself for a moment as it began to fill up with the Superstars. He was then greeted by former NXT native Sami Zayn, whom would work his first match that night since being called up to the main roster. He befriended Dolph sometime before then and had since been keeping in touch with him frequently. He was dressed in his wrestling attire and ready for his match far ahead of schedule.

"Hey there, Nick." Sami said. "What did John want? Everything blow over smooth?"

"Yeah." Dolph replied. "He just wanted to run back through some things for tonight."

"Cool. Man, you must be just as stoked as I am about tonight, huh? It's a big night for both of us!" Dolph forced a smile. He did not want to think too hard on the event, but he knew how he was during his debut years ago decided to humor Sami's excitement.

"Yeah. It's pretty awesome." He had to admit, it did feel euphoric to be a part of such an important story arch in the WWE. However, he still had not shaken the fall of his leader off of his mind.

"Oh yeah." Sami stood up. "Well, I'm gonna go walk around a bit. I'll catch you later, Nick." Dolph waves as Sami leaves then goes back to getting himself ready for the night.

* * *

In the women's locker room, there had already been talk amongst the women concerning when Brie and AJ would be returning.

"There's no telling when Brie will be back." Nikki explained after being questioned by Summer Rae. "She needs time to recover from this, so it won't be anytime soon."

"I hope she gets well soon." Summer said. Naomi was next to speak up.

"Right." She added. "She's pretty cool. It really sucks about Bryan. I still miss him."

"We all do." Natalya said as she continued to fix her hair. "We just need to make sure that we are there for Brie when she comes back. She's going to need it."

"She'll be fine." Nikki told them, slightly annoyed by the sympathy felt by the girls for her sister. "She's strong. She can pull through this. She'll just need an opponent when she comes back, so be ready."

"AJ will be back by the time Brie comes back." Naomi said. "They'll probably put those two in a storyline because of what happened to them."

"Please!" Nikki snapped back, making Naomi furrow her brows. "She is still in a coma. There's no way she's coming back here before my sister. They're gonna try and force me and Brie against each other again."

"You sound pretty confident in that, Nikki." Summer retorted with slight agitation.

"They always do that when one of us is out for a while. Why wouldn't they do it this time?"

"Well, there are more of us now than there was when you got hurt and had to stay out. Creative has more options now." Nikki sucked air through her teeth.

"Options? Please don't swear around me." A collection of "wow"s and "really"s filled the air. Nikki's comment agitated all the Divas except Paige whom was sitting in her chair shaking her head as she updated her Twitter account, and Lana whom had been sitting in the corner of the room fully dressed since she arrived even though she was not scheduled to be at the show. Paige quickly decided that bickering amongst the women was becoming too much to bare. She looked up from her phone.

"Hey!" She shouted in thick British accentuation before laying standing up and laying her phone down in the chair. "Brie and AJ are going through a helluva time, and all you hens can do is tip about like chuffed wankers while shouting and yelling for some mishmash Nikki happened to puff out!" All the girls quieted (mainly to decipher what Paige said to them) except for Nikki, who stepped from behind Summer Rae to meet Paige face to face.

"I don't know who you think you're yelling at," Nikki started. "But you'd better learn your place, little girl. You're only here because I allow you to stay here." Paige blinked once. Before she could respond, she felt a tap on her back. She turned around quickly to find AJ dressed in her wrestling gear smiling at her with a folder in her hand. All the girls were ready to greet AJ with warm greetings until she held her hand up to stop them. Paige stepped aside so AJ could walk up to Nikki and face her.

"Hello, Barbie." She said with a smile on her face. Nikki wore a confused look on her face.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked angrily.

"Well, Honeydew Bella, last I checked my bank account, I get deposits from this place. I'm not a shareholder or part of the business side, so chances are…" AJ paused for a brief moment. "…I work here. Go figure." Lana looked up to pay closer attention to the tiny Diva.

"You know what I meant, Madame Punk. Why the hell are you back so soon?"

"A girl's gotta make a living, you know. My pockets aren't as long or as ample as your boyfriend-who-doesn't-want-to-marry-you's back pockets, so I have to be here to make my bank account go Boom-Boom when I need it to." AJ smirked at Nikki's angering face. "Don't worry, Honeydew. I only came in to let you know that Creative scheduled us to have a match tonight on Raw." AJ pressed the folder against Nikki's chest causing her to wince slightly. "Didn't you read the script?" With that, AJ walked out of the locker room with all eyes on her. Lana stood up and walked over to Nikki and looked into her eyes.

"You chose your fight wisely." She said simply before walking out of the room. Paige ran out of the room to follow AJ. She clearly heard Lana's heels behind her, but decided to continue her pursuit of AJ. She finally caught up to her.

"April!" she shouted as she worked briefly to catch her breath. AJ stopped and turned to face her.

"Saray-Ray!" she said. "Didn't think you'd see me so soon, huh?"

"No. In fact, I expected you to be out for at least six months!"

"Well, what did you think I meant when I told Paul and Stephanie that I'd 'see them tomorrow' yesterday?"

"A business meeting, or that they would visit you to talk about legal stuff. I don't know!" Paige took a deep breath before continuing. "Are you sure you're going to be okay out there against Nikki tonight?" AJ grinned.

"I'll be fine. Nikki is not a threat to me because of how John feels about her mean-girl antics. She knows if she tries something stupid, he'll be in her boobage about it." Paige furrowed her brow.

"Don't you mean 'In her _head_ about it', AJ?"

"In Nikki's case, I mean 'boobage'. I can only assume that's where her brain is." Paige stifled a laugh, and reached out to hug her friend. As she did, AJ noticed Nikki about to storm past them.

"I'm glad you're alright." Paige said to AJ. "I can't wait to finally get in the ring with you again." AJ then heard Nikki say something faintly.

"Who does this bitch think she is, talking to me like that?" she heard her say. "Just wait until I tell Stephanie about this!" AJ turned around with haste.

"What did you just say?" she harped. Nikki stopped, turned around, and headed back to face the smaller woman.

"If I had something to say…" Nikki started. "…I would have said it to your face." She then narrowed her eyes. "I'll see you in the ring tonight." Nikki went back to stomping towards Triple H and Stephanie's office. Paige looked at AJ with confusion in her eyes.

"What was that about?" Paige asked. AJ looked at her friend.

"You seriously didn't hear her?" AJ replied.

"AJ. She didn't say anything. She literally just stomped past us. That's all."

"I heard her…" AJ stopped herself, then smiled. "Never mind, Ray-Ray. I'll just be in the lounge area." AJ then walked off, leaving Paige confused as to what had happened just then.

* * *

"Will you calm down?" John said to his girlfriend, Nikki. She huffed.

"Are you serious? You're expecting me to calm down after what she said to me? She had no right to talk to me like that, John."

"If you go to their office like this, you're gonna say something stupid and get yourself into trouble." Nikki shook her head and narrowed her eyes. "I'm only trying to calm you down before you get yourself suspended or something worse." John pulled Nikki closer to him.

"Alright, alright. I won't talk to them about it until after our match. I'm supposed to win, so I guess that will make me feel better." Nikki stepped in even closer to John so that she was close enough to fill his heart beat. She trailed a finger down his covered chest. "Know what else would make me feel better?" John grabbed her hand gently as it began to fall lower down his abdomen.

"After your match, baby." He said to her. Nikki quickly got upset once again.

"You always say that, John!" She snatched her hand away from him. "It's like I disgust you or something!" John frowned.

"It's not like that, Nikki. I-"

"Stop, John!" Nikki halted him. "Just don't. I can't do this with you right now!" Nikki stormed out of John's locker room. John began thinking about trying to calm her down again, but ultimately shook his head and decided she was beyond his reach and chose to let her leave the room. John pulled his phone out and started up a text.

"_I hope you're doing okay._" It read. "_Get well soon. Talk to you later._" John sent the text and went back to reading over his lines for the event.

* * *

It was an hour later at the hotel room AJ and Phil were staying in. Raw was about to begin, and Celeste and PJ joined Phil in the room to watch the event and see AJ's first match since her return.

"I still can't believe you let her talk you into letting her get back in the ring, man." PJ said to Phil.

"She wasn't taking 'no' for an answer. All I can do is watch and make sure she doesn't get hurt in there."

"You know her well enough to know that she wasn't going to stay gone for long, PJ." Celeste said to her husband. The WWE fanfare began to play on the television, and Celeste shushed both men as she watched attentively. Phil and PJ look at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

* * *

Dolph's music played loud, and the crowd immediately roared with momentous cheers as the babyface stepped out on stage. He posed for the many fans in attendance before walking down the ramp, slapping the hands of the fans as we walked down to the ring. He hopped into the ring over the ropes and signaled for a microphone. After receiving it, he stood in the middle of the ring seemingly receiving all of the cheers and love from the fans. Dolph then lifted the microphone to his face to speak and the cheers died down.

"The love and support I get from all of you never quits amazing me." He said, making the crowd cheer him louder. "Thank you. Now, as much as I love hearing you all cheer for me, I'm not out here to pull you all's strings. I came out here for a different purpose." The crowd quieted. "I came out here… to issue a challenge. I want to challenge…" Ziggler paused for a moment to pull the audience into the story he was working to sell. "…John Cena." With that, the crowd went wild with a mixture of cheers and jeers. "I want to challenge Cena for the WWE Championship!" As if on cue, The Authority's theme music began to play, and the group of Triple H, Stephanie, Seth Rollins, and Kane walked out onto the stage, down the ramp, and into to the ring. Stephanie, with a microphone in hand, was the first to speak after the music stopped playing.

"Dolph… Ziggler." She started, the jeers growing thicker by the moment as she played her menacing character. "The man who beat Seth Rollins last week on Smackdown. The man with the power to captivate crowds night in, night out, simply by not… giving up." Stephanie paused to listen to the crowd's response to her comments. "You've definitely come a long way from where you were, Dolph. However, you don't have the ability to just challenge whoever you want, I mean. With all your accomplishments… and failures… many, many failures…taken into regard, there are still other ahead of you. One of them is…" Stephanie then pointed at Seth, who stood with a smirk on his face as his superior spoke of him. The audience jeered the man as the attention was brought to him. Stephanie then walked up to Dolph and closed in on him as if he could not hear her. "Seth…Rollins. So, just like everybody else, you're going to have to _earn_ that shot, Dolph." Dolph nodded then raised the microphone to retort.

"You know, Stephanie," he started. "It's funny you should say that since your "future" didn't necessarily _earn_ his Money-In-The-Bank briefcase almost a year ago." Seth frowned as the crowd rose with cheers in response to Dolph's comment. Dolph looked directly at Seth, and Seth signaled for the microphone. Stephanie handed hers to him.

"You know, that's pretty cute, Dolph." He said with a smirk on his face. "You can take jabs at me all you want. You can take jabs at Kane. You can whine and complain, but the fact still remains." Seth then held up this golden briefcase. "I still have this." The crowd showed their disdain with loud jeers. "And, as long as I have this contract, I'm the number one contender. So, like Stephanie said, you gotta wait in line, little man." Moments later, John Cena's music played and the crowd went crazy as the Massachusetts native walked down to the ring with the Championship belt on his shoulder and a microphone in his hand. He stepped in the ring and poised himself to speak.

"Dolph made a point here." He said looking at Triple H. "He's been working damned hard the entire time he's been with the WWE. You know it, I know it, Stephanie knows it, Seth knows it, Kane knows it, Mikey knows it, Daniel Bryan knew it, every Superstar and every Diva knows it!" John received a large pop from the crowd. "If anybody deserves a title shot, it's Dolph Ziggler!" The crowd cheered louder before Cena raised his hand. "However… Stephanie also made a good point. You gotta earn your title shot." John paused for a moment. "Triple H. Stephanie. I got a proposition for you. Since your man right now feels like he can beat anybody anywhere at any time, why don't we give him a challenge. Seth Rollins… versus Dolph Ziggler." The crowd began to cheer. "If Dolph loses… he is banned from ever competing for the WWE Title." Dolph looked at Cena with confusion, and Triple H looked at him with a smirk as the crowd began to jeer. Cena then raised a finger. "If…if Seth loses… then his Money-In-The-Bank Contract is voided and Dolph takes his place as number one contender at Summer Slam!" The audience went mad with excitement as Stephanie nodded with pleasure. Seth could be heard bad mouthing Cena through the madness as Triple H and Stephanie deliberated. Triple H then looked at Seth and reached his hand out for the microphone.

"Cena." He began as the crowd quieted. "…I think that sounds like a good idea." The audience cheered hysterically much to the chagrin of Seth Rollins. "You got your match, Cena! Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler for the number one contender spot tonight!" Triple H then handed Stephanie the microphone as they absorbed the crowd's response to the announcement.

"On one condition, John." Stephanie added. "…The match will be…inside a steel cage." Seth looked at Stephanie, and she returned the look. "We have faith that Seth will trample Dolph and put him in his place. We know he will get the job done."

* * *

AJ looked at the monitor with amazement as the event transpired. She smiled as she listened to the arena rumble with cheers from the crowd. She began to feel that night would be a night of change. She pulled her phone out to text Cesaro.

"_Seth versus Dolph for the #1 contender spot._" The text read. She sent it, and stood up. Nikki and her segment would be after the commercial break that was scheduled to be next, so AJ headed towards ramp area backstage. Her pocket vibrated, making her remember that she needed to leave her phone in her bag. She opened the phone, and saw Cesaro had responded to her text.

"_About time._" The text read. "_I was beginning to wonder when Nick was going to get a chance to shine. I got another message today._" AJ raised her eyebrows. She knew the message was from Brie.

"_That's awesome._" She typed out. "_Tell me all about it in a bit. I'm up next on stage._" She then closed her phone and put it in her bag. AJ then turned back around to head to the ramp area. She came across Randy backstage with his back turned to her. She stopped say hello, but before she could speak, she heard Randy speak up.

"Man, stuck back here again." She heard him say. "Why the fuck won't they just let me come back already!?" Randy turned around to see AJ staring at him.

"AJ!" Randy greeted. "I didn't know you were back already. How ya feeling?"

"I'm alright." AJ said. "How are you? Claudio told me you had just left when the bistro got blown to bits."

"The feds questioned me the entire time up until now. In fact, they still call me sometimes to check my story, I guess." AJ then decided to hug Randy after hearing him so upset about not being able to wrestle. Randy quickly raised his arms so AJ did not squeeze them. "You sure you're alright?"

"You'll be back out there soon." She said to him as she released the hug. "I know you said you're mad about that." Randy raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"It's not that big a deal." He said. "But I didn't say anything about that." AJ looked into his eyes.

"Just now, you did." AJ then looked down to the ground. "Didn't you?"

"Nope. Not a word. You're right, though. I just gotta be patient." Just then, the cameraman called for AJ to make her way to the ramp area.

"Well, that's my cue. Wish me luck."

"You got it, Power Pellet!" AJ laughed at the nickname Randy gave her before walking off to the ramp area to listen to Nikki speak to the audience. AJ had to admit that Nikki had gotten better, but she still could not stand to listen to the woman speak as her voice annoyed her infinitely. When her music finally played, she put on her game face, grabbed the microphone from the cameraman, and skipped onto the stage. She was welcomed with a full standing ovation, making it hard for her not to break character and cry in front of all of her fans. After absorbing the welcome for a brief moment, AJ held the microphone up to her face to speak.

"Look who's baaaack, Honeydew Bella?" AJ said, deciding to improvise rather than to stick with the script. She received a massive pop from the crowd. AJ put on her signature 'crazy chick' charm to further win the audience over and began walking slowly down to the ring. "I just wanted to thank you for keeping my baby company while Mommy was away for while. Mommy's back now, so if would be so kind as to…" AJ paused as she entered the ring underneath the ropes and moved to stand right in front of Nikki. "…Give my baby back to me, I won't have to use my motherly instincts and face you as a kidnapper." The crowd roared as AJ's face toughened. Nikki smirked.

"In case you hit your head too hard and don't remember," she started. "I beat you for this title. Just like all those other girls back there, you're gonna have to stand in line and wait your turn." Nikki held the title up in the air pompously, and the fans expressed their displeasure by loudly jeering. "So, go on back to wherever it is you came from back there and-" Before Nikki could finish, AJ broke the script again and slapped the microphone out of Nikki's hand. The crowd thoroughly enjoyed her response.

"I'm starting to think you forgot how this goes." AJ began pacing around. "Ya see, Honeydew, I don't disappear just because you beat me…" she paused for a moment. "…which you had to cheat to do, by the way. I am due a rematch, and I plan to exact that clause… at Summer Slam." The audience cheered while Nikki twisted her face in disgust. "But, since we're here, why don't we give the fans a bit of a show tonight?" With that, AJ threw the microphone over her shoulder and out of the ring, then slapped Nikki hard across the face and jumped on top of her pummeling her with punches as the bell rung for the match to start. Nikki managed to slip away, but AJ chased her to the corner of the ring. Nikki dodged a clothesline, causing AJ to miss but barely miss the turnbuckle. Nikki ricocheted off of the ropes and set up a clothesline of her own, but AJ ran and ducked under it to bounce off of the ropes and hit a head scissor takedown on Nikki. The woman staggered to the turnbuckle, angered beyond comparison.

Nikki knew what was to happen next. AJ was supposed to run towards her to hit the turnbuckle clothesline, and Nikki was supposed to fall so AJ could land a moonsault, a new move Creative added to AJ's move set that Nikki was meant to put over. However, Nikki allowed her personal feelings for the smaller Diva overtake her judgment. As AJ ran towards her, instead of staying where she was, Nikki quickly ran off the turnbuckle and delivered a strengthened clothesline to AJ. AJ was caught off guard by the move, as thus was not prepared to land properly. When Nikki's arm connected, AJ flipped over and landed on the back of her head before coming up to a seated position with a dazed look in her eyes. Instinctively knowing that they were still working a match, AJ immediately decided to allow Nikki to pin so that she could end the match. She feigned being knocked out by the attack and forcefully laid back down on the mat and, as if it were planned, Nikki covered her for the three-count and the victory. While the referee counted, however, AJ began feeling a pulsing headache that seemed to intensify with each slamming of the referee's hand on the mat. With her theme music now playing, Nikki stood up to celebrate her victory and AJ rolled over slowly to her knees and grasped her forehead with her right hand while bracing herself with her left. Nikki noticed AJ coming to and decided to play her character by attempting to attack her again. Though somehow, through all of the jeers from the crowd, AJ heard Nikki coming.

"Get the hell away from me!" AJ shouted as she held her hand out to stop Nikki from coming closer to her. The instant her words came from her mouth, she felt a painfully throbbing pulse in her head and the next thing she saw was Nikki violently pushed into the turnbuckle. The impact caused the woman to fall harshly on the mat gripping her back in pain, and the crowd cheered for AJ as they were unaware the events that conspired were not scripted. AJ looked at Nikki in horror as her theme music began to play and the audience grew louder. She ran her hand through her hair and slowly slid under the ropes and walked backwards up the ramp as the throbbing headache intensified. AJ let out a primal scream as her head was now seething. The audience, still oblivious of the fact that what was happening was real and not story canon, cheered louder for AJ as she nearly stumbled to the backstage area…


	5. Seeing the World Through New Eyes

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. I was trying to figure out where to end this chapter. Anyhow, reviews, insight, and anything else you guys want to share is more than welcomed. I hope you're enjoying this so far! I sure am enjoying writing it.**

Triple H had already been waiting for AJ backstage along with three medics to check her head for any injuries. The man formally known as "The Game" did not happy.

"What happened out there?" He asked AJ calmly. AJ shut her eyes as the three people looked at the back of her head to check for damage.

"Paul, if I knew I would tell you." AJ replied. "I just don't know why Nikki hit me like that. It wasn't scripted, so I did what I thought was best and ended the match."

"Good call." Triple H looked at one of the medics. "Make sure she stays in her locker room the rest of the night." The medic nodded. "I need to be in the office when Nikki comes to see us. We are not tolerating that type of behavior. When Nikki comes back here, tell her Stephanie and I want to see her." Triple H left AJ and the medics behind to head to his office. AJ's head began to pulsate again, though this time it was not as painful. As the medics were asking her questions, she heard voices talking over them.

"How is your head feeling?" One of the male medics asked her. At the same time, she heard him say "I can't believe how fucking sexy AJ is! I wonder what I'm having for dinner today." She heard the female medic say "I have my phone bill to pay tonight and I'm stuck here. I want to go home." The voices got louder, until AJ couldn't handle it anymore.

"Stop!" she yelled, making the medics, as well as the voices, cease. The lights above them flickered slightly. "I'm okay. I just landed wrong. I'm just going to go get some fresh air if you don't mind."

"We are asked to keep you in here until the show is over." The female medic said. AJ huffed.

"I'm fine. Just let me step outside. Please."

"Sorry, AJ, but we can't."

* * *

"I did exactly what the script said." Nikki said as Triple H and Stephanie questioned her about the match between AJ and herself.

"It did not tell you to clothesline AJ unconscious, Nicole." Triple H harped. "You were supposed to get hit, make a comeback, and then submit to the Black Widow. Or, did you not read that part?" Nikki smirked slightly.

"You cannot tell me that the match wasn't good, though." She said, much to the chagrin of Stephanie. "You said that sometimes we need to improvise. That's what I did, and the crowd ate it up." Stephanie softened her face.

"Listen very carefully, Nikki." She started. "Improvising and neglecting to follow safety procedures are two very different items. You could have seriously hurt April with that stunt you pulled tonight."

"Stephanie. The three of us know that AJ came back to the ring way too soon. I'm sorry, but if she wasn't ready to step back in the ring, she shouldn't have come back."

"Nicole." Triple H said. "I'm telling you now. We run this business, and we make the business decisions. Not you. If you put yourself or any of the other Divas or Superstars in harm's way again, you will be terminated, and neither John nor anyone else will be able to save your job and bring you back." Nikki swallowed hard. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir." Nikki replied.

"Alright. You're free to go." Nikki silently walked out of the office, leaving the two owners to themselves.

"Why are we keeping her, Steph?" Triple H asked.

"John asked us to keep her after the last incident with Naomi. She's has been improving her performances, so until now we've had no trouble with her."

"Well, if she does something like this again, her ass is gone, and I don't care what John says."

"I agree full-heartedly."

* * *

Lana had left the arena without the rest of the roster knowing she had disappeared. As she walked outside, appearing to prance in her heels, a black sports vehicle pulled up to where she was standing. The passenger side door opened and she entered the ride before it quickly drove away. The driver was a European man who appeared to be in his early thirties. He had short dark blonde hair that was spiked upward, a faint beard, and light brown eyes. The man was wearing a dark dress suit.

"What took you so long?" Lana asked the man.

"Traffic." The man replied. The woman shook her head at the response.

"I told you to leave on time to get here on time."

"I thought I did. I ran into a bunch of tour buses."

"No matter."

"Nothing new?"

"The girl had a small episode tonight, but nothing substantial to report."

"Boss Man is probably gonna wanna know about it anyhow."

"Of course he will." Lana crossed her arms as she sat patiently in her seat and attempted to listen to the music the man played. It did not take long for the music to begin annoying her.

"Turn off the radio." She said.

"Why?" The man asked.

"I much prefer silence than the noise you are having me listen to."

"This ain't noise! This is Nickelback!"

"I did not ask you what you paid for it."

"No, Cat. That's the name of the group." Lana simply shook her head.

"Why do you insist on listening to such offensive music?"

"It's nothing offensive about Nickelback, Cat."

"Let's just get to the Boss and report our findings."

* * *

Cesaro was lying in his hospital bed, still recovering from the events that occurred the week before. He was feeling much better, though not well enough to leave. His headache continued to bother him, but his shoulder felt as if it had completely healed. His phone was in his lap where he laid it after he answered the message he received from AJ earlier that night. That moment, Cesaro's phone lit up again. He looked at it, and saw that it was AJ.

"_No kidding! I would have never imagined. It explains a lot, though._" The message referenced a message Cesaro received earlier that night before AJ's match. Cesaro began typing to reply.

"_Yes. I couldn't believe it either, but I'm glad he messaged me._" The message said. AJ replied about a minute after Cesaro sent his message.

"_Just don't get your hopes up too high just because of a text message, Claudio. We can talk about it when I get there. See you soon._" Cesaro read the message and sat his phone back down beside him. He then heard two pairs of footsteps approaching him, and he instantly expected the doctors to walk in to examine him again. Who he saw, however, shocked him.

"This woman is here to visit you, Mister Castagnoli." The nurse said to him. She stepped aside and from behind her walked Brie Bella. Brie turned to the nurse and thanked her for escorting her. The nurse nodded and left Brie and Cesaro alone.

"Hi Claudio." Brie greeted. "AJ told me you would still be here, so I flew back to visit you." Cesaro smiled at the woman.

"Thanks, Brianna." Cesaro said. "I appreciate you flying back here to visit me. I am sorry to hear about Bryan."

"Thank you. It's been really hard for me to handle, but I'm managing." Brie sat down in the chair beside him. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm actually feeling much better. I can move my arm like nothing happened. I'm waiting for the doctors to come look at it."

"I'm glad to hear it. It sounds like you'll be out of here in no time."

"I'm hoping." Brie stood up and pulled a wrapped gift out of her purse.

"I bought this for you." She handed the gift to Cesaro.

"Really? This is nice of you, Brianna." Cesaro opened the gift and in it was a black Kangol hat with his initials embroidered on the side of it. "Thank you. How did you know I enjoy these hats?" Brie smiled.

"They're the only hats I've ever seen you wear." She replied. Cesaro worked around the bandages on his arm and shoulder to put the hat on his head. Brie admitted to herself that the man looked rather handsome wearing it.

"How do I look?" he asked her.

"It definitely fits you, Claudio." Cesaro took the hat off and placed beside his phone.

"Thank you again, Brianna." He said.

"You know you can call me Brie, right? Everyone else does." Cesaro nodded slowly.

"Brie." Brie grabbed her purse.

"I have to head back to my room so I can get some rest." Brie told Cesaro. She then hugged him around his waist and Cesaro tried to keep from flinching and giving away how ticklish he was. "You feel better soon, Claudio."

"Thanks, Brie." Cesaro replied. "I will. You do the same." Brie nodded and left the room. After she was out of his sight, Cesaro looked over at the hat Brie had given him. He picked it up and put it back on his head.

* * *

Phil could not help but wonder if the fall AJ took was scripted or unwritten. Phil wanted to believe it was, but something inside him told him that AJ had hurt herself in that fall. He had tried calling her, but he received no answer. Minutes after Celeste and PJ left to head to their room, AJ returned his phone call.

"Hey babe." AJ said. "I saw that you called. Everything okay?"

"I'm good." Phil answered. "What about you? I saw your match with Honeydew. Was that fall staged or what?" AJ sighed audibly.

"I wasn't planned, no, but I'm fine. I didn't hurt myself."

"You're lying to me, April. Don't lie to me." AJ could hear the anger in her husband's voice. She had not had the chance to look at the recording, but she knew that if her fall gave Phil enough to be worried about, it had to be dramatic.

"I'm not lying to you, Phil. I seriously didn't hurt myself. It was just a normal bump on the head. No big deal."

"No big deal? That fall looked like it could've killed you with the way you landed on your fucking neck! How do you expect me to not take it as a big deal?"

"You're taking this exactly how I thought you would, which is why I was going to wait until I got there to talk to you about it."

"When are you coming to the room?"

"I'm going to see Cesaro first, so I'll be there late. You can stay up if you want."

"Of course I'm gonna stay up! I need to talk to you."

"Alright then. I'll be home soon. I promise."

"Fine, fine. Love you."

"I love you, too." AJ ended the call, and Phil threw his phone on the bed. He was furious about AJ getting hurt, but he was also worried that she might have not told him the full extent of her injury. He began to pace the room impatiently as the time passed.

* * *

"I told you not to do anything stupid, Nikki." John harped at his girlfriend.

"And I told you…" Nikki stood inches away from John and stared daggers into his soft cerulean eyes. "…to be there when I needed you, John! Everything I do, you are always against me! I gave that little bitch exactly what she deserved out there, and the fans had no idea! They thought it was all a part of the show! Of course, you wouldn't know that because you weren't watching, John!" John was quickly reaching his breaking point the longer Nikki yelled at him. Her final comment would push him over the edge. "It's like you don't love me anymore! You just love what I can do for you!" John threw the bottle of water he was holding at the wall so hard the bottle exploded spreading the contents all over the room.

"That's it!" John shouted at the top of his lungs, silencing Nikki and changing her expression from anger to shock and fear. "I've had it with you and your nagging, your complaining, and your bitching! If you're not happy, why don't you just leave, Nikki? Leave the arena, leave the company, and leave me!" Nikki doubled back at John's outburst, then realized what he had said.

"What are you saying, John?"

"I'm saying I'm tired of being your patsy! I'm done catering to you while you bully every other Diva on the damned roster! I'm done, Nikki." Nikki's eyes widened as what John said finally hit her.

"You can't break up with me." She responded on the verge of tears. "I'm Nikki-fucking-Bella! I'm the Diva's Champion!" John shook his head.

"Before you became champion, you were much more than that. Now, that's all you are. The Diva's Champion. The champion of a division you neither care about nor have any respect for." John walked passed Nikki to open the door to his locker room. "Get out, Nikki." Nikki blinked harshly as her eyes filled with tears.

"John, please don't do this. I'll change. I'm sorry."

"I didn't expect you to. I guess I just fell for someone you pretended to be. You can't change who you are, Nicole, and someone will love you for the bona fide Diva that. It just won't be me." John simply looked down at his sneakers signaling the woman once more to leave. Nikki proceeded to slap John across his face as hard as she could, then stomped out of the room with tears running down her eyes. John, slightly reeling after the slap Nikki gave him, closed his door and sat down to calm his nerves. After a few minutes, he pulled his phone out and typed out a text.

"_It's over between me and Nikki now. Finally decided enough was enough._" The text read. He sent it then put his phone back in his pocket. He then heard a knock on his door.

"John." The voice belonged to a man. "It's Randy." John stood up to open the door and let him in. "What the hell happened, man? Nikki almost knocked me on my ass trying to get outta here!" John plopped back down on the two-seat sofa.

"I just broke up with her." John said calmly. Had he not known better, Randy would have been surprised at how well John was taking the ordeal.

"Wow, man." He sat down next to his best friend. "Well, good damned riddance. That chick's hot and all, but she is Hell's asshole in a blue thong. I'm pretty fucking shocked ya didn't do it earlier." John shook his head.

"I didn't wanna hurt her, Randy, but she was just too much. The way she did AJ tonight was the last straw." Randy patted John on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, man. Once the night's over, we'll hit a bar or something. We can drown in beer since we don't have to be on Smackdown tomorrow." John shook his head and let out an airy laugh.

"Sounds good, Randy."

* * *

AJ had made it to the hospital, and the noises of the busy workers and patrons filled her ears with an all-too-familiar song. She walked up to the desk to find a male receptionist typing away at his computer like a drone. AJ calmly knocked on the table to get his attention.

"Excuse me." She started. "Do you mind giving me a visitor's pass so I can visit my friend on the seventh floor?"

"What room are they in, ma'am?" the man asked her.

"Room seven-twelve." The receptionist nodded then went to typing on his computer. He looked up at AJ.

"Please look into the camera." He requested, and AJ did as she was told so her picture could be taken for the pass. "Thank you. One moment, and your pass will print out…" The man pointed to a small printer. "…Right here." After a minute, the slip of paper with AJ's photo on it printed out.

"Thank you so much." She said as she pulled the paper from the printer and headed up to see Cesaro. When she got to his room, she noticed he was sitting upright with his wounded arm unwrapped.

"Claudio?" She said to get his attention. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." Cesaro replied. "I'm well. My arm is doing much better now." AJ furrowed her brows.

"It is? Wasn't your collarbone broken? Are you sure it's safe to move it?"

"I don't feel any pain, so I suppose so." The news had confused the woman, but she quickly decided it was best that Cesaro being healthy take precedence. She sat down in the chair next to him.

"When will the doctors release you?" AJ asked. Cesaro shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not sure. They haven't been in here yet. They should be coming in at any time." AJ nodded.

"Gotcha." AJ then closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Brie stopped by to see me." Cesaro told AJ as he picked up his new hat. "She gave me this." AJ beamed.

"Really? And I missed her? Darn."

"Can I tell you something?" She asked.

"Sure. Anything." Cesaro said. AJ closed the door and sat back down in her seat.

"I think something happened to me when that place got blown up." AJ said to him. "I've been getting headaches, hearing voices… and tonight, when Nikki hit me and I landed on my head… I think I did a Jean Grey on her." Cesaro looked at her puzzled.

"A Jean Grey?" he said. "What do you mean?"

"You know. Jean Grey. Move-things-with-the-mind lady of the X-Men?" There was a brief silence as AJ waited for a sign that Cesaro knew who she was referencing. She had no such luck. "I pushed Nikki without even touching her. I don't know what's going on with me, but I'm honestly afraid, Claudio." Cesaro bit the corner of his top lip.

"I'm not exactly sure how that's possible, but maybe you could talk to Paul and Stephanie."

"Please. They'll look at me like I'm actually crazy." Cesaro shook his head as he tried to think about it. "It's okay, Claudio. I just needed to tell someone."

"It does sound like it could be serious, though."

"I know. I don't know who to go to." That moment, a doctor opened the door.

"Mister Castagnoli." He said. "It's time for your examination. Are you well enough to walk?" Cesaro nodded.

"Yes, I am." He then carefully stood up out of the bed. AJ stood up and hugged the taller man gently.

"Text me and let me know how it goes." AJ said before releasing Cesaro.

"Will do." With that, AJ walked back down the hall to the elevator that led her back down to the main floor. When the doors opened, there were three other people inside waiting. AJ carefully stepped in the elevator. She then began hearing the three of them talk at the same time. However, they were not moving their mouths to speak. The voices intensified until it became unbearable. AJ quickly pressed the button for the next floor and when the elevator stopped, she got off. It happened to be the second floor, so AJ decided to climb the stairs back to the first floor. AJ all but ran out of the hospital, causing a few people to stare at her as she made her way out. AJ looked around in amazement. She looked around at the people passing her by, and she could see faintly illuminated pulses and streams of many different red and blue hues flowing through them like veins. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she was not hallucinating, and found out what she saw was not a hallucination. AJ turned slightly to see a taxi driving her way, and she quickly decided to flag it down so she could get back to her room as fast as possible.

"Taxi!" AJ yelled as she waved her hands madly. The yellow checkered vehicle slowed to a stop in front of her and opened the door so she could get in.

"Where to, Miss?" The taxi driver asked. AJ kept her head down.

"The Holiday Inn on Magnum." She replied. The driver started the mile meter and began driving to their destination. AJ took a series of deep breaths to calm herself, then looked up to notice that the colorful veins she saw everywhere had dissipated. A look of worry filled her face as the car came to a stop.

"We're here, Miss." The driver said.

"Alright." AJ replied. "How much do I owe you?" The man looked at the meter closely.

"Eleven, ninety-eight." AJ paid him and grabbed her things before stepping out of the car. She looked at the large hotel building. She knew she would have to tell Phil about everything that happened during her night, and she could not help but think that he will believe her to be crazy. AJ took another deep breath and started to walk inside the building.


	6. Secrets

The room was dimly lit, and all that could be heard was the ticking of a clock mounted on the large black marble wall and the knocking of the desk ornament on the desk. The man waited patiently staring at the guarded door as if waiting for someone to enter. He then heard his phone ring twice and answered it, a familiar huskiness in his voice.

"Where are you two?" He asked.

"We are outside, Mister McMahon." The person on the other line was in fact Lana. "I have info to report."

"Good. Hurry up." The man recognized as Vince McMahon ended the conversation with Lana and signaled the bodyguards standing near the door to escort the two into his office. The man on the left opened the door and in walked the two people. Vince smiled and stood up to greet them.

"Catherine. Matthew." Lana and the driver recognized as Zack Ryder stood in front of Vince's desk.

"Mister McMahon." Lana began. "I've been keeping an eye on the project as requested. She is advancing rather quickly. She had an episode tonight. Thankfully it was covered by Creative, but I do worry she may be having side effects, Sir." Vince pursed his lips and swallowed hard then pushed a button on his desk phone.

"Get Fedoseev in here now!" Vince said angrily. Within minutes, an older man with long brown hair wearing a pinstripe suit was let in by the guards. Lana and Zack stepped aside to allow Fedoseev to stand where they were.

"How may I be of service, Mister McMahon?" the man asked in a heavy Russian accent.

"We've got a problem, Fedoseev." Vince said. "My source here tells me April Mendez, the woman we allowed you to test your new little chemical on, is having side effects." Fedoseev blinked at the news.

"What kind of side effects? Vomiting? Dizziness?" Lana spoke up.

"No, Sergei." She said. "Tonight, she exhibited the use of acute telekinesis. The show's programming and storyline managed to cover it up, but it may not happen like that next time. She is advancing far too quickly. She could become a hazard." Fedoseev started to laugh.

"I would like to think of this finding as scientific advancement more than a hazard." Fedoseev clasped his hands together. "You contacted me in search of a chemical alternative to steroids and from my work came the next stage in evolution. Because of my creation, a simple woman is able to expand past what we believe to be reality from what you report, Lana." Fedoseev ran his right hand through his long hair. "Do you know what this means, Mister McMahon?" Vince walked around his desk.

"It means a hell of a lot of trouble if this gets out to the public, Fedoseev!" Vince shouted. Fedoseev narrowed his hazel eyes.

"For you it may, Sir." Fedoseev said. "My task was done without hassle. The rest was planned by you and I had no hand in that. For me, however, all of this means that my name will be synonymous with Einstein and Hawking. Once I have perfected the serum, everyone will be able to break the harsh limits of the mind to be stronger, faster, more efficient humans."

"I wanted you to make a steroid alternative, Sergei! Not make a drug that can turn my people into comic book superheroes!" Fedoseev shook his head and laughed again.

"You are so narrow minded, Mister McMahon." Fedoseev told the older man plainly. "This could mean you having a hand in sponsoring my breakthrough serum and equally sharing the achievement. Continue to sponsor my work, Mister McMahon, and I will be sure that you are shown in the books as the sponsor of the greatest scientific feat of the millennia." Vince thought for a moment. If Fedoseev spoke true, the world would be taking a step towards the future with his company at the forefront.

"What are we going to do about your test subject?" Vince questioned. "If her husband catches wind of this, it'll be a goddamn disaster!"

"We should keep an eye on her, Aneschka." Fedoseev replied while looking at Lana. "Study her. Observe her closely and let no new findings go without being reported." Lana nodded in compliance.

"You may leave that task to me, Mister McMahon." She said. "I am able to get close enough to April to look after her." Vince nodded at Lana.

"Good." He said before looking to Zack. "I want you to make sure no one catches on to her, Cardona. If they do, then we will get in deep trouble with Health and Wellness."

"Yes, Sir." Zack said quickly.

* * *

AJ had been standing at the door of her room nervously for close to twenty minutes. She was hoping Phil had gone to bed already, but when she opened the door she saw him sitting on the bed watching television. His attention turned from the television to her within an instant.

"Apes!" Phil said after almost leaping off of the bed to greet his wife. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Still sore." AJ replied. "But I'm making it."

"No pain, no gain." AJ shook her head at her husband's retort.

"And what do I gain from this pain?"

"TLC from yours truly. Anyhow, what the hell happened tonight?" AJ sighed and then plopped down on the bed.

"I came back, Nikki gave me lip, I handed her the script Creative gave me to give her, we had our match, and she broke away from the script and clotheslined me. I wasn't ready for it, so I fell awkwardly and decided to just give her the match because I knew it wouldn't make or break the storyline either way. I'm not hurt other than the typical wrestling woes."

Phil nodded with an unfamiliar smile on his face. I trusted AJ enough to know she would not lie to him. However, he still could not help but feel like she was withholding some additional information. Moreover, what Phil was watching on the television when AJ walked in was what happened after AJ's match with Nikki. He watched her push Nikki into the turnbuckle so hard that the force knocked Nikki face first onto the mat. He knew AJ was strong for her size, but he also knew that she was not able to push any Diva or Superstar that hard with one arm. Phil watched that segment over several times in an attempt to see how she did it.

"How did you do it?" He asked AJ. AJ looked at him with confused eyes.

"How did I do what?" She asked. Phil turned around, rewound the show back to the segment after AJ's match, and then played it over.

"This." Phil and AJ witness the latter force Nikki into the turnbuckle again on the television. "You're strong, babe, but you're not that strong and I know Nikki couldn't have forced herself into the turnbuckle that damned hard." AJ bit her lip. She knew Phil was going to question the event, though she was not prepared for it to be so soon. AJ quickly thought of a story to tell him.

"It was a stunt." She said to Phil. "Honeydew was attached to a wire." Phil narrowed his eyes in disbelief.

"Wow. Just wow."

"What?"

"You really can't expect me to believe that when I know how WWE treats the Divas. They would never trust any of you with a wire stunt." Phil walked over to stand right in front of AJ and look her in the face. "Tell me how you did it."

* * *

In a car parked across the street from the hotel AJ and Phil stayed in, Lana and Zack watched the couple's room through binoculars.

"What do you see?" Lana asked.

"Looks like Punk and AJ are talking about something." Zack looked over at Lana. "Ya think he's asking about what happened tonight?"

"If he's a good husband, he would be." Lana opened the car door and stepped out.

"Where ya going?"

"I need to make sure Mister Brooks doesn't ask too many questions. After reading his file, if he gets too much information from April then he is bound to go hunting for clues like the hound he is." Zack pulled a small microphone out of his pocket and handed it to Lana.

"Hide that on you somewhere so I can hear what's going on." He said. Lana mentally notated Zack's quick thinking.

"Right. Keep an eye out for wanderers." Lana walked off, leaving Zack by himself in the unmarked car.

* * *

Randy Orton drove silently as John flipped through radio stations in an aimless search to find something interesting. He found a radio station playing Rhythm and Blues and decided to set the radio there. John nodded in compliance.

"Where are we going?" John asked Randy.

"Just ride, man." Randy responded. "I'm not kidnapping ya, and you don't have anything going on tomorrow." John sighed.

"I guess you're right, Rand."

"Hell, I know I'm right. I'm Randy-fucking-Orton!" John laughed at Randy's reply. To him, Randy Orton was one of the most carefree people. He lived life with less regard for rules and more regard for enjoying himself and having fun. Every time John hung out with his friend he knew the day would a wild and unmistakable one. After what seemed like hours of driving, the duo finally stopped. John looked out the window to see what looked like a boardwalk.

"I thought you said we were going to a bar." John said to Randy. Randy laughed briefly.

"I did say that, but then I remember you saying you don't like drinking. I need you to be relaxed and water relaxes you, so here we are at the beach."

"Why didn't you just tell me we were going to the beach?" Randy shook his head.

"Cause you woulda thought of a way to get out of it, John. Geez! What's with the Third Degree here? Just get out and chill out!" John raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, opened the door, and got out of the car. He leaned on the trunk while Randy walked around the car. Randy sighed.

"John." He started. "Tell me what the hell is going on with you. You aren't the same Cena I'm friends with." John shook his head.

"I know, Rand." John said. "I just…" Randy eyed him and noticed his hesitation. He put his hand on John's shoulder to console him.

"Look, man. Relax. You know that whatever it is, you can trust me with it. I won't tell a soul." Randy moved his hand and shifted slightly. "As long as you don't tell me you wanna be a woman or something drastic like that. I won't be able to stop myself from laughing if ya do!" John let out an airy laugh.

"No, Randy. I'm all man, and I plan on staying that way."

"Then what the fuck? What's going on? What's got you twisted like this, man?"

John balled up his lips and tensed his jaw. Randy insisted that he tell him what was bothering him, but John was indecisive about whether or not he truly wanted to. After moments passed and Randy attempting to shake him a few times, John decided.

"Alright, alright!" John said as Randy was once again shaking him out of his thoughts. "Just quit shaking me."

"Tell me what's going on, John." Randy demanded. John hesitated briefly before speaking.

"I'm gay, Randy." John looked down at the sand waiting for a punch or a kick to land on him. Instead, he was met with a laugh. "You're laughing? What? You don't believe me?"

"Naw, naw." Randy said through his fit of laughter. "I believe ya. I was just thinking about how Nikki would have reacted if you told her instead of me. Boy, your nuts would be car ornaments by now!" Randy went back to laughing as John shook his head.

"You're fucking crazy, Rand. You're probably right, though." John began laughing but stopped almost immediately.

"What's up, man?" Randy asked him.

"There's something else."

* * *

AJ and Phil had taken a seat on the bed as Phil tried his hardest to pry more information from his wife's vice grip. He had gotten several "I don't know" responses from AJ before she told him that since she had been back to work she had gotten headaches and was hearing voices.

"Hearing voices?" Phil asked rhetorically. "Seriously, April?"

"I'm not kidding, Phil." AJ said in a defeated tone. "I don't know what's going on with me. I feel different. Like, I see every living thing in a new way. I just…" AJ began to cry. "I just don't know." Phil held his wife close to him and rocked as she cried into his chest. The two then heard a knock at the door.

"I'll get it." Phil said before standing up to answer the door. When he opened it, the flawless Lana was standing in the doorway with an alluring smile on her face. Phil blinked a few times as the beautiful woman captured his attention almost instantly.

"Who is it?" AJ asked. Phil turned to AJ and back to Lana.

"I'm here to visit April." Lana said. "Is she here?"

"Catherine?" AJ called out as Phil stepped aside to let Lana in. Lana walked over to AJ.

"Mrs. Levesque asked me to see how you were doing after what happened tonight." Lana sat down next to her. "Are you okay?" AJ furrowed her brow and shook her head.

"I'm fine." She said. "It was just a bad fall and a bump on the head. No big deal." Lana placed her hand on AJ's shoulder and AJ felt an sharp yet brief pain where Lana touched her.

"I believe Nicole is out to do you harm." Lana told AJ. "I'll keep a close eye on her from here on out." AJ smiled.

"Thank you." She said as she mentally tried to figure out why Lana was in her hotel room trying to console her. She felt herself tiring. "We're gonna go to bed. Thank you for coming to check on me, Catherine."

"Anytime." The beautiful woman stood up and walked towards the door as AJ stood up and headed to the bathroom. Phil had been listening to the two women by the door, and as Lana closed in on the exit she stopped in front of him. She gave him a look that made him look back to see if AJ was watching. He then felt Lana's finger caress his chest as if she were admiring his tattoos from underneath the thin shirt he wore.

"Such works of art should be showcased for all to see." Lana said to him. She then grazed her nail over Phil's nipple, making him gasp at the jolt sent through his spine. The woman proceeded to walk out of the room, and Phil slowly closed the door behind her. As soon as he did, he heard AJ step out of the bathroom.

"Did Catherine leave already, Phil?" she asked. Phil nearly choked on his answer, but managed to get it out.

"Yes." He said. "She left." Phil went to the bed and laid down with AJ.

"Good night." She said as she laid her head on Phil's chest. She then saw what looked like luminescent blue veins pulsing throughout his body. AJ blinked her eyes in frustration and the veins disappeared as quickly as they appeared. She closed her eyes as the hastened heartbeat in her ear eventually calmed and put her to sleep.

* * *

Empty boxes of tissue filled the space as Nikki continued to sob her eyes swollen after the events that night. She had manage to find herself facing the bad sides of all the other Divas on the roster, biding her time in the ill graces of Triple H and Stephanie, and on the verge of losing her dream job. None of those instances hurt her more, however, than losing John. She had vengefully torn up every photo she had of him and threw each piece in the trash can near the door of the bus she was on. She decided to call the one person she felt she could count on regardless of what the circumstances were. Her phone rung twice before it was answered on the other line.

"Nikki?" It was Brie. Hearing her voice again made Nikki want to sob over the phone.

"Brie." She started. "I'm having the worst night ever!"

"Why? What's going on?"

"First, that bitch AJ came back and talked shit to me! Creative put us in a match together and I felt it was the perfect opportunity to make her pay for what she said."

"What did you do to her, Nikki?" Brie sounded disappointed.

"I clotheslined her, Brie. That's all! I just did it off paper so she didn't see it coming at all! I got her good!" Nikki heard Brie gasp on the other line.

"You could've hurt her, Nikki!" Brie scolded.

"She deserved it for what she said to me, Brie! Then Hunter and Stephanie got pissed off at me for raising the ratings for the Divas Division! To top it off, John dumped me because of it!"

"What?"

"Yes, Brie! He dumped me! He dumped me because of that stupid bitch AJ!"

"Nikki." Brie broke in. "Do you even care how I've been doing, how I've been trying to cope with losing my husband, or when I've been living? You never thought to call and check on me, and the only time you do call is when you need someone to listen to you complain about the consequences of your stupid decisions." Nikki genuinely felt bad about how she treated her sister.

"Brie, I'm so sorry. I didn't think of it that way."

"I know, Nikki. You never do. You always think of yourself first before anything else."

"Brie. Please don't be mad at me. I'm really sorry for not checking up on you."

"Nikki. Until you can be a real sister and not let all the successes go to your head, don't call me ever again."

"Brie! You don't mean that! I'm really-" Brie had hung up the phone before Nikki could finish. Nikki looked at the phone in disbelief; her eyes were full of tears. She shouted in anger and threw the phone on the floor of the bus, shattering it into three pieces. Nikki paused for a moment and then began rummaging through her bag and pulled out a razor blade. She ripped a part of her top off and stuffed it in her mouth until her speech was inaudible. Nikki then sat down and began to cut into her right thigh, screaming into the torn cloth as she bled down her leg and onto the seat. Just as she made the next cut, she heard the bus doors open.

"Is anybody in here?" It was Summer Rae. She walked onto the bus to take a nap after the event. Nikki was not quick enough to hide her secret from the blonde. "Nikki…?"


	7. Cesaro

**A/N: When I posted this, I forgot to add the scene breaks. lol Anyhow, I hope you all are enjoying this little fic from this old dude. lol Reviews and criticism are welcome.**

Summer Rae ran as quickly as she could to Triple H and Stephanie's office to tell them what she found. Summer Rae was still trembling as the sight of blood almost instantly caused her to faint and it took all of her strength to keep from doing so. When she finally made it to their office, Triple H had just stepped out.

"Mister Levesque!" Summer shouted in an attempt to be audible through her heavy breathing. Triple H did his best to console her.

"What?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

"It's Nikki! She's…" Summer Rae paused to catch her breath.

"What's wrong with Nikki?" By that time, Stephanie had stepped out of the office after hearing the commotion.

"Is everything alright?" She asked.

"Nikki's cutting herself!" Summer Rae shouted at them. Both Triple H and Stephanie were taken aback by the news.

"What? Where is she?"

"She's in the tour bus." Stephanie grabbed Summer Rae's shoulders.

"Danielle! Why did you leave her by herself?"

"I'm so sorry, Stephanie! I wasn't thinking. I should have called, but I didn't know what to do!" Triple H dialed his phone to call security.

"Get some guys to the Diva bus now!" he said. He hung up the phone and began running in the direction Summer Rae came from. The two ladies followed suit. The security and safety group had not arrived yet when the three got there. Triple H all but pulled the bus's doors off their hinges.

"Nikki?" Triple H called out. When he looked closer, he found an unconscious Nikki Bella on the floor in the kitchen. "Shit! Steph! Call the paramedics!"

"Hunter!" Stephanie called out, unable to see what he saw. "What's…"

"Call the damned Paramedics!" Summer Rae started crying hard, indicating to Stephanie that something was seriously wrong. She did as her husband asked.

* * *

"…Wow, man." Randy said to John. "Ya know, ya oughta be ashamed of yourself." John had a pitiful look on his face.

"I know." He said. "I feel terrible about it."

"Dude, Chrome Dome's been waiting around for you for ages only for you to keep standing him up. You stood him up three times!"

"I know, Rand." John began to get agitated. "I know."

"Do you know, John? You've been playing with Chrome Dome's emotions and you've been lying to Nikki –not that I care- and everyone else that matters to you, man!" John stood up and faced Randy.

"You think I don't know that?" John shouted nearly. "You think I want to walk around with everybody thinking I'm something I'm not? It's not easy being the fucking poster boy of the WWE! Everyone's got their eyes on you every damned time you take a step, and the company doesn't exactly take to gay guys as quick as they would for straight guys. I'm stuck playing a role, Randy. I'm playing a role just like you and everyone else on the roster." John sighed and plopped down into the slightly chilled sand. "The only difference is that everyone expects me to be _John Cena: The Superhuman Cornerstone of the WWE_ and not _John Cena: The Human Being Who Lives On the Same Planet Everyone Else Lives On_." Randy sympathized with his friend, but did not know what to say. He decided to squat down next to John and pat him on his back.

"I'll just say this." Randy started. "Those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter. You gotta be yourself, man. All your fans, the guys, the girls, the children….they all love a John Cena you're pretending to be. Be the real John Cena and see how many real fans you'll have. If they disappear, they were bomb ass fans to begin with." John thought about Randy's advice for a moment and then stood to his feet. Randy looked up at him. "What are you doing?"

"I need to make a call."

* * *

Dolph dropped his bag at the door of his hotel room, kicked his shoes off, and hung his jacket on the clothing rack near the door. His hotel mate, Sami, was sitting on the bed in his sleep attire watching television when Dolph walked in. When he heard the door, Sami got up to see who it was.

"Hey Nick." Sami greeted. "How's it going?"

"Not bad, I guess." Dolph replied. "What are you doing here so early?"

"I left after my match ended. Just wanted to get some TV in my life, you know." Sami looked at Dolph a bit closer. "Are you sure you're alright? You look tired and sad."

"I'm not tired, really. I guess my body's still upset about Bryan. He was an awesome guy." Sami frowned.

"Yeah. He was pretty cool. I can only imagine how Brie is doing." Dolph shook his head.

"She's probably a mess. I don't wanna think about it anymore." Dolph headed towards the bathroom. "I'm gonna shower and go to bed. I have to work a match on Smackdown this week." Sami knew Dolph normally would not go to bed right after a show but he noticed a change since the sending ceremony for Daniel Bryan ended. Sami had no words.

"Alright man." He said simply. "I'll go ahead and hit the sack, too." Sami turned off the television and hopped over to the bed on the other side of the room. "Get some good rest, man."

Dolph could not get to sleep. The depression from losing his friend had taken many a night's rest from the young man. Dolph went into the bathroom when he noticed Sami had gone to sleep. He looked at himself in the mirror and did not like what he saw. In the mirror was a man deprived of sleep and high on depression. It was not a look he enjoyed at all. He turned the warm water on a low setting and placed his hands underneath it to splash himself with it before looking back into the mirror.

* * *

"Come on, Nick." He said quietly to himself. "Get yourself together." He shook the water from his face and went back to bed to try and get some rest.

Cesaro played a game of Sudoku on his phone to pass the time. Moments later, the doctor walked in and caught his attention.

"Mister Castagnoli?" the doctor called out.

"Yes?" Cesaro replied.

"Your release form was signed. We just need your signature here and you're free to leave." The news caught Cesaro by surprise as he was not expecting to be released.

"Alright." He replied, deciding not to question. He looked at the paper, signed his name, and handed it back.

"Thank you." The man walked out of the room. "You can come with me. Your boss left you some clothes to wear out." The two walked down the hallway and the doctor walked into a room and grabbed a bag of clothes to hand to Cesaro. "You may change in here. I'll close the door, and you can let yourself when you're done." The doctor stepped out and Cesaro pulled the clothes out of the bag. Inside were black tennis shoes, a pair of dark jeans, and a black turtleneck shirt. The clothes were out of the normal attire for him, but he was grateful to have an outfit. He put on the clothes and began to walk out of the room to head out of the hospital. It was then he got a phone call. He stopped and looked to see who it was and answered immediately.

"I wasn't expecting you to call me, John." Cesaro said quietly into the phone as he shut the door. "I was just released."

"That's good to hear, Claudio." John said on the other line. "I'm glad you're better." Cesaro heard John sigh on the other line. "Look, I need to talk to you about something."

"Okay. Go ahead."

"No. I want to discuss this in person. I'm coming with Randy to pick you up. He'll drop us off and we'll catch a cab to a hotel."

"Alright, John. I'll be here waiting then."

"I'll be there in about thirty minutes."

"You know which hospital I'm in?"

"Of course I do." John's response stung Cesaro a bit as he mentally questioned why John never visited him, but he immediately dispersed the thoughts.

"Alright. See you then." Cesaro hung up the phone and walked out of the room and into the elevator to go downstairs to speak with receptionist at the entrance. During the ride, he tried to figure out what John wanted to talk to him about that could not be discussed on the phone. Before he could delve further into it, the elevator stopped at the first floor. He stepped out and walked to the receptionist's desk.

"Mister Castagnoli." The man greeted. "It's nice to see you up and moving about."

"Thank you." Cesaro replied. "I'll be waiting on someone here, if that's alright." The man nodded.

"The waiting room is right over there. You're more than welcomed to wait in there where it's comfortable."

* * *

Knocks on the room door woke AJ from her sleep. She groggily looked next to her to find Phil was not lying in bed. She scanned the room for him as best as she could before hearing the knock at her door again. Deciding it must be Phil, AJ stood up out of bed and dragged herself to the door. When she opened it, however, she did not see Phil. She instead saw Cesaro standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing here so late, Claudio?" AJ asked Cesaro. He had a distressed look on his face. "Are you okay?"

"AJ." Cesaro said. "I need your help."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't have much time, AJ. I-" Before he could finish, AJ heard what sounded like a loud dart. She looked horrified when she Cesaro's head snap backward and fall to the ground with his face hitting the floor first. She held her hands to her mouth in shock. A tall muscular man was standing behind where Cesaro stood with a gun, signaling that he was the one who shot Cesaro. AJ could not make out his face as it was hidden by a strange shadow.

"He knew too much." The man said to AJ. The mysterious man then pointed the gun at AJ. Before AJ could make a move, the man pulled the trigger. She forcefully shut her eyes and began to shout at the top of her lungs. She then felt a familiar embrace wrap around her. Her shouts calmed as she slowly opened her eyes to see Phil's tattooed arm holding onto her.

"April!" Phil said. "It's alright. It was just a dream." AJ aggressively wriggled out of Phil's grasp and onto the floor with a hard thud. Phil quickly scurried over to check on her only for her to stand to her feet in front of him. AJ gathered up an outfit and got dressed.

"Where are you going?" Phil asked her.

"I need to go see Claudio." She responded plainly.

"Why? What's going on?" AJ looked at Phil with a look that did not suit her features. It was a stoical look of emptiness.

"I just need to talk to him, Phillip." She replied, shocking Phil when she referred to him by his full given name. She walked to the door, grabbed her bag, and walked out of the room leaving Phil by himself.

Outside, AJ pulled her phone out to call Cesaro and check on him as she still felt her dream had actually occurred.

"Come on, Claudio." AJ said as the phone rang while she walked through the underground parking lot. "Please pick up your phone." It rang twice more before Cesaro answered.

"Hello?" Cesaro's voice brought AJ comfort as she now had confirmation her dream was only a dream.

"Claudio. It's April. How are you feeling?"

"I'm great actually. I've been released." The news surprised AJ.

"Already? You broke your collarbone. It's only been a little over a week!"

"I know. I don't know how I healed so quickly but I feel great."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it. Have you left the hospital yet?"

"No. I'm still here. I'm waiting for John to show up. He and Randy are meeting me here." AJ cursed to herself.

"I need to talk to you, Claudio. How long are they going to be?"

"I don't know. Is everything okay?" AJ sighed.

"I just have something to tell you, Claudio. I'll be there. Just wait for me, okay?"

"Alright, April." AJ hung up the phone as she pulled out her keys. Before entering her car, however, she looked over her shoulder at the exit of the parking lot and happened to see the heavy traffic. She huffed and then put her keys back in her pocket after quickly deciding that walking would be exponentially faster. AJ walked out of the parking lot and onto the sidewalk and almost immediately felt lighter on her feet than she was used to. Her pace quickened until she was nearly sprinting to the hospital.

* * *

After the phone call with AJ ended, Cesaro sat his phone in his lap and went back to waiting for John and Randy. As if on cue, the receptionist called over the intercom.

"Claudio Castagnoli." He said. "Your party is out front. Claudio Castagnoli. Your party is out front." Cesaro suddenly felt nervous as he stood up to head out the hospital. He then stopped and remembered that AJ asked him to wait.

"John wouldn't mind me waiting here for AJ to get here." He said to himself. Cesaro then walked outside to ask John to wait for AJ to arrive. He did not see neither John nor Randy's vehicle outside. He did see, however, a limousine waiting right in front of the building. He dismissed it and continued looking for John and Randy until he heard the window of it roll down.

"Get in." he heard a man say. Cesaro turned back to the limousine to find who said it. He could barely see the man's face due to the tint of the windows darkening the interior.

"Who are you?" Cesaro asked.

"Please. McMahon sent for you." Before Cesaro could question any further, he was violently pulled into the limousine and the limousine drove off. Cesaro regained his composure and got a better look at who the man who dragged him into the ride was. He immediately recognized him.

"Mister Hickenbottom?" Michael Hickenbottom, known by the wrestling world as Shawn Michaels, shrugged his shoulders.

"In the flesh." Shawn said. "Call me Shawn, though. Everyone does. Besides, 'Mister Hickenbottom' isn't exactly oozing with pornstar sexy like I'm used to, ya know."

"Okay then. Shawn. When did you come back?"

"Well, ya see, I'm not 'back' as in wrestling. Ole Vinnie Mac hired me to do some behind-the-scenes work for him. He sent me to bring you to him safe and sound. Kinda like a bodyguard on temp schedule." Shawn looked Cesaro over. "I can say, though, that I've been watching your matches and I'm a fan. You're damned good." Shawn then patted him on his thigh. "Ya could be a bit more sparkly, but you're good." Cesaro raised his eyebrow.

"What do you mean by 'sparkly'?" he asked.

"Well to be blunt, outside of your squared-circle dance you're boring. I'll help ya with that in time, though."

Cesaro was not happy about being called boring by a person with as much lineage in the company as Shawn Michaels but he did not let his frustration show. His attention was instead drawn to Shawn's hand that still rested comfortably on his thigh. Instead of asking why Shawn has not moved his hand yet, he opted to ask another question.

"What does Mister McMahon want with me?" Cesaro asked. Shawn shrugged.

"He didn't tell me. He just said-" Shawn attempted to mimic Vince McMahon's mannerisms. "-'Pick Castagnoli up and bring him here to me' and here I am." Cesaro blinked once before it dawned on him that he was supposed to be meeting AJ as well as John and Randy back at the hospital. He pulled his phone out to text AJ. Shawn then snatched the phone out of his hand.

"What are you doing?" Cesaro snapped back in reflex.

"Yeah, I forgot to tell you." Shawn said as he tucked the phone in his pocket. "Vince told me to take your phone from you." Cesaro began to grow uneasy as the veteran's actions led more towards a kidnapper than a temporary bodyguard.

"I'm supposed to be meeting John, Randy, and AJ at the hospital." Cesaro said. "I need to let them know I won't be there."

"No can do, my 'Very European' fellow. Direct orders." Cesaro held his hand out to Shawn; an angry look decorated his face.

"My phone please." Cesaro demanded, much to Shawn's apathy.

"Unless you plan on getting' it out of my pocket, you're not getting your phone back unless McMahon gives it to you after I give it to him." Cesaro's jaw fell loose as it finally dawned on him what Shawn was hired for.

"Stop the limo now, Shawn." Cesaro said with a calm yet nervous tone to his voice. Shawn ruffled his ponytail.

"Aw man. You figured it out. Didn't you?" Shawn started laughing, confusing Cesaro as he eyed him with great intensity. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to use this stuff on you since you're such a submissive looking stud meister, but I do have a job to do." Cesaro furrowed his brow and noticed Shawn pull out a syringe with a blue substance inside it. The man quickly tried to reach for the door behind him only to be mounted by Shawn who used all of his weight to keep the slightly heavier man down. Cesaro struggled madly in an attempt to break free, but Shawn forcefully grabbed his throat and forced him to look into his eyes.

"I'll give you a reason to scream," Shawn sensually whispered into Cesaro's ear. "If you don't…." He then stuck the syringe into Cesaro's side and injected the substance, causing Cesaro to instantly fall unconscious. "…stop struggling."

* * *

AJ made it to the hospital in a mere eleven-minute time frame without stopping. She took a few deep breaths as a reflex though she did not need the extra wind, and walked inside. The symphony of the hospital seemed all too familiar to her as they filled her ears with clutter so loud in her head that she began to get a headache. AJ focused on the receptionist at the desk a few feet in front of her as an attempt to drown out some of the noise. However, she ended up hearing the man's thoughts instead of what was happening around her.

"Fucking hate this job." The man kept repeating in his head as he typed away at his computer. AJ warily walked up to him as she fought to clear her mind of his thoughts.

"Excuse me." AJ said to get the man's attention.

"Yes, ma'am?" he answered.

"Do you happen to know where a man named Claudio Castagnoli is? He said he would be waiting here for me."

"Actually he left already. Left in a limo. He said he was waiting for someone to come get him." AJ narrowed her eyes in annoyance as it seemed to her that Cesaro blew her off to meet with John and Randy.

"Okay then." AJ responded as she smiled whimsically. "Thank you anyhow."

"You're welcome, ma'am." The receptionist went back to typing briefly before realizing exactly who he was speaking to. AJ heard him say "Holy shit! That was AJ Lee! I should have got her autograph." in his head. Upon hearing this, she turned around, grabbed a marker of the desk, and proceeded to sign the coat the man was wearing much to his surprise.

"Thanks for your help." AJ said to him before leaving. Once outside, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and began texting Cesaro.

"_Where are you?_" she sent to him. AJ waited minutes for a reply before seeing Randy's car pull up to the front of the hospital. John stepped out of the passenger seat and saw AJ immediately.

"AJ." John called out as he walked up to her. "What are you doing here?"

"I was supposed to meeting Claudio here so I could talk to him about something." She answered. "The guy at the desk said he left in a limo with someone. I was thinking it would have been you." John was taken aback by AJ's comment.

"Whoa." John said. "What makes you think I'd come here for him?" AJ rolled her eyes.

"You can cut the crap, Cena. I know all about you. Unlike Nikki, my brain actually does more than keep air from filling my head up." AJ tapped John on his chest. "I know you like Claudio." John began blushing.

"So you know then?" John said with his voice drowning in guilt. AJ laughed a bit.

"You make it obvious to the right people, I guess. I won't tell anyone unless you want me to." AJ flung her hair back behind her. "The issue right now is us finding out where the hell Claudio went and why he ditched us!" Randy then hopped out of the driver side.

"What the fuck, man?" he harped. "Where is Chrome Dome, John?"

"We don't know, Randy." John replied. "AJ is here for him, too."

"Well, did either of you try _calling_ him?" John and AJ looked at each other. John pulled his phone out and began dialing Cesaro's number. Randy shook his head. "Retards." Cesaro answered his phone after four rings.

"H-hello?" Cesaro said, his voice tinged with slight despair.

"Claudio." John said. "We're here waiting on you and so is AJ. Where are you?" Cesaro hesitated a bit before answering.

"Something came up." The person speaking was in fact Shawn Michaels with a wired contraption attached to both Cesaro and himself through way of their throats which allowed them to copy and mimic each other's vocal patterns and tones upon speaking. Shawn continued to speak to John.

"Vinnie Mac came after me for some private business." Shawn then thought to himself. "I told him you were coming to get me, and said it was urgent. He wanted you to come, too. I'll text you where I'm going. Meet Vince there and we'll hang out afterwards." Before John could reply, Shawn ended the conversation and began texting John the address of the building to which they were going. Once he sent it, he pulled the device off and put it back in the compartment underneath the seat. Shawn then looked at the still unconscious Cesaro and smirked.

"Kill two birds with one stone." He said to himself. The limousine stopped as it had reached its destination.

"So?" AJ said to John as John stared blankly at his phone.

"It sounded like him," John started. "But something sounded off."

"What did he say?" Randy asked.

"He said Vince called him and told him to meet him somewhere and that Vince wanted me to come, too." John then furrowed his brow. "He didn't call Vince 'Mister McMahon' like he normally does, though. He called him 'Vinnie Mac' like they were chummy all of a sudden." John's phone then lit up as he received the address. "Here. He sent the address." Randy and AJ looked at it.

"I'll put it in my GPS and we'll all go." Randy said. AJ blinked a few times at the screen before John pulled it away.

"I know where that is." AJ said in an unusual monotonic voice. "Let me drive."

"Hell no!" Randy all but shouted. "This is my ride. I'm drivin'." Before he could say another word, however, AJ pulled him out of the driver seat with incredible ease and sat in the car.

"Get in the back or we're leaving you." AJ said without looking at the fuming Randy Orton. John looked over at the taller man.

"Just do what she said, Rand." He consoled. "It's only for this ride." Randy huffed heavily before walking around the car to get in on the passenger side.

"Don't fuck my car up, chick!" Randy snapped at AJ. AJ did not flinch at the comment. She instead started the car as if second nature to her despite the button-laden wonderland the center console housed. She put the car in gear and sped off, throwing both John and Randy back in their seats. AJ skillfully dodged cars that were moving too slow for her, and cut curves and turns as if she were drifting in a street race.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Randy shouted in detest although secretly he was enjoying the ride. "You're gonna get us fucking killed!"

"Don't lie and say you don't love this, Randy." AJ said plainly as she successfully maneuvered between two cars. John held on to the handle above the driver seat as if his life depended on it while AJ weaved through traffic.

"What…the hell!" John shouted as the car threw him from side to side. AJ then looked to her left and saw a black limousine. Assuming it was the one Cesaro rode in she turned the car hard to pull up behind it with a screeching halt. John heaved heavily and struggled to catch his breath while Randy sat still in his seat trying to calm his racing heart beat. AJ unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car. John and Randy looked at each other.

"Poor Phil." John said to his friend before getting out of the vehicle. Randy simply shook his head.


	8. The Master Plan

**A/N: This chapter was a bit tougher to type out because I couldn't figure out how to tie up the end, and even now it still feels maybe 3% incomplete. lol anyhow, I hope you all enjoy.**

"I'll be there as soon as I can." Brie said to Stephanie on the other line. "Please contact my family for me, Stephanie. Thank you." Brie ended the phone call and threw her phone on the bed next to her. Stephanie had called her with the news of her sister's attempted suicide and it came as an immediate shock to her. It was a secret that Brie knew nothing about. She always believed Nikki was far too into herself to even think of harming her own body, much less suicide. Brie gathered her things and headed out to her car. She then pulled her phone out and dialed AJ, but received no answer. Instead she got AJ's voicemail box.

"Hey April." Brie said. "I was just calling to check on you. I hope you're doing alright. I'm headed to the hospital there to figure out what happened to Nikki. I won't worry you with that info, though. Anyway, have a safe night and I'll speak to you later." Brie hung up the phone and got in her car to leave for the hospital.

* * *

Summer Rae was still in shock. She rode to the hotel with Natalya and TJ as the bus she rode on was the same bus being investigated by officials due to Nikki's suicide attempt. Summer tried to pull herself together but she had never witnessed anything of that magnitude. Natalya chose to sit in the back with her to try to console her while TJ drove.

"She's going to be fine." Natalya told her. "Nikki just needs to think about how life is going for her and try to fix it."

"I wish we could go see her." Summer said.

"I know. They said no visitors until tomorrow, though. We'll have to wait."

"I mean, Nikki can be awful most times, but I would never wish something like this on her."

"No one would, Danielle. Just try to take your mind off of it, okay?"

"They asked me so many questions. I didn't know what to tell them. I don't know anything about Nikki, but they kept poking and prodding." Summer Rae cried into Natalya's shoulder. Natalya was at a loss for what she could do for Summer to help her feel better. It was then that her husband saved her.

"Why don't you stay with us tonight, Danielle?" TJ suggested. "I don't think it's such a good idea for you to be by yourself with you feeling like this. We have an extra bed in our room you can use." Summer thought to herself.

"I won't be intruding?" she asked the couple.

"Not at all." Natalya answered. "We'd love to have you."

"Alright. If it's alright with you all, I'll stay with you for the night."

* * *

Triple H and Stephanie sat in the waiting room of the hospital waiting for an update on Nikki Bella's condition. It was minutes later when the doctor came in to speak with the two of them, and they stood to their feet to greet her.

"Mister and Misses Levesque?" She said.

"Yes." Triple H said. "How's Nicole doing?"

"Well, she is stable as of right now. We had to pump her stomach to remove the medication she took. Gratefully it wasn't a lethal amount but we went ahead with the procedure as a precaution. We will keep an eye on her." Stephanie let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Doctor." She said. The doctor nodded and left the two owners to themselves in the waiting room. Stephanie looked to her husband with worried eyes. "Paul. This is very serious. What are we going to do about this?"

"We're going to have to talk with her family." Triple H replied. "We'll need to get Nicole as much help as she needs to get through this."

"This is turning out to be one rough month." Stephanie said as she plopped back down onto the seat. "First the bombing at the bistro, then Bryan's passing throwing the roster into disarray, then AJ getting hurt, and now this." Stephanie looked directly at Triple H. "I am drained, Paul. I have no more energy left for anything else. Once this is over we need to take a vacation." Triple H nodded in agreement.

"You're right." He said as he sat down next to his wife. "We just need to make it through this month and possibly the next." The two then saw Nikki's twin sister walk into the waiting room. They stood back to their feet to speak.

"Hi, Brie." Triple H said to Brie while Stephanie hugged her.

"We called your mother and father." Stephanie told her. "They will be here as quickly as they can."

"Thank you." Brie said. "When can I see her?"

"Now if you want." Triple H answered. "We aren't able to see her yet, but you're family. Just tell the doctor who you are and they'll let you see her." Triple H looked over at Stephanie and then back to Brie. "Before you do, though, we need to talk to you." Brie furrowed her brow in confusion.

"What is it? Is everything alright?"

"Well, Brie." Stephanie began. "Nikki is in a very sensitive place right now. We don't know how far back in time these thoughts or actions go or what triggered them, but we do know that suicide is a very serious matter. We have to make sure that Nicole gets all the assistance she needs during this delicate time in her life." Brie dropped her purse in the seat next to her.

"What are you suggesting?" Triple H and Stephanie looked at each other before looking back to Brie.

"We're suggesting Nicole go under Suicide Watch." Triple H said. Brie's eyes widened. "Like Stephanie said, we don't know why she did this and we absolutely don't want her to try it again at any point in her life. We already discussed getting her a therapist with your parents, and though they agreed with us they told us that the decision was ultimately yours to make, Brie, since you're the one who's with her the most."

* * *

Celeste and PJ were talking about their business when they both heard a knock at their hotel door.

"I'll get it." PJ said as he stood up. He looked through the peep hole and saw that it was Phil so he opened the door.

"Hey, Phil." PJ said. "Where's April?"

"I was hoping one of you had the answer to that." Phil said as he walked into the room. "She told me she was going to go see that Cesaro dude at the hospital three hours ago. I called her cell to see if she wanted to pick up a pizza or something and she didn't answer, and she didn't answer my text either." Celeste's eyes widened.

"She didn't answer your text message?" she chimed in. "That's odd. We don't know where she is, though. She hasn't texted me since yesterday." Phil sighed into his hands with frustration.

"Maybe Saraya knows where she is. I'll go see her."

"We'll take you." PJ said. "We aren't doing anything." Celeste nodded.

'Yeah. I want to make sure the Little Demon's okay. I'll grab my keys." As Celeste went into the bedroom to grab her keys, the two men walked out of the room to wait for her. She joined them moments later and the three headed for the parking lot.

"It's not like April to just disappear like this without answering a text." Celeste pointed out as she got into the car and started it. "I hope she's okay."

"Tell me about it." Phil added. "It's like she enjoys adding to my gray hair collection!"

"That sounds like her. The gray hairs she gave me was the reason I dyed my hair again." Celeste, PJ, and Phil drove out of the hotel parking lot and headed for the hotel Paige was staying in.

* * *

AJ, John, and Randy walked up to the reception desk but saw no one behind it. Randy quickly grew impatient.

"What the fuck, man!" he shouted. John and AJ turned to him

"Chill out, Randy." John pleaded. "Someone's coming. Just wait." Sure enough, a young Asian man in his early twenties dressed in a blue blazer and black slacks appeared from the room behind the desk. He smiled kindly before greeting the trio.

"Hello there." The young man said in a heavy oriental accent. "How can I help you?" John opened his mouth to speak but before he could do so, AJ stepped in front of him.

"We're here to see Vince McMahon." AJ told the young man. "We have an appointment." He gave them a strange look of disdain and then smiled again before picking up the phone to the right of him. Randy raised his eyebrow and leaned over to John.

"I think he's into you, dude." Randy whispered to John, making John elbow him in the side. The young man then hung up the phone and looked back to the three wrestlers.

"My apologies for the wait." He said to them before walking out from behind the desk. "Right this way." He led them to an elevator on the far right of the area then pressed the button for the doors to open. "This elevator will lead you all the way up to Mister McMahon's office hallway. His office will be on the far right side at the end of the hallway. Bodyguards will be at the door of the elevator to escort you so you don't get lost. I will let him know you are on your way." The trio entered the elevator and the door immediately closed behind them. The receptionist walked back to his desk and dialed his phone with shifty eyes.

"They are on their way up, Sir." He said.

"Lock up." The man on the other line told him. The young man hung the phone up and pressed a button underneath the desk. Moments later, one by one the windows and exits were blocked off by massive steel walls.

John, Randy, and AJ waited patiently and silently in the elevator as it slowly ascended past the many floors of the executive building. The silence began to annoy Randy even more than he already was.

"Why the hell am I here?" he asked his two companions. "Vince asked for you two. Ya coulda left me at home and missed me with this crap." John shook his head.

"If you took me to the bar like you said you were going to do then you probably wouldn't be here." John said. Randy huffed at his comment.

"Whatever, Dick Squeeze. You were gonna tell me you're a fireman-in-training-for-life and hunt down Chrome Dome no matter where we went tonight. I'm saying you coulda took me home when ya decided you were gonna go find him."

"You would have been home if you took me to the bar and got me drunk, Rand. I would have said, "I'm fucking tired" and fell out and you would have taken me to your place to crash like you always do." Once John made his point, Randy shrugged his shoulders. AJ turned to face to two men.

"Are you two dating or something?" she asked sarcastically. "I swear you go back and forth like you're together." AJ's comment made John laugh.

"He wishes he were dating me." John said jokingly. Randy punched him hard in the arm.

"Fuck you!" he harped.

"Not even." Randy rolled his eyes at John's comical reply and leaned up against the wall of the elevator.

AJ broke a fit of laughter to realize that in that moment she felt more like herself than she had felt since the incident that hospitalized her. She then quietly assessed herself and noticed that she could not hear neither Randy nor John's thoughts at all. Her body felt familiar to her again. She felt "normal", but somehow or another it did not feel natural to anymore. AJ took a deep breath in an attempt to shake the lingering feeling of abnormality, and then felt the elevator stop. The trio looked at the doors of the elevator.

"Finally." Randy said as he stretched his arms over his head. The doors opened to reveal two muscular, black suit clad bodyguards wearing shades standing in front of the elevator exit.

"Follow us." One of them said, and the three did what they were told. Two more bodyguards followed closely behind them after they stepped out of the elevator. AJ began feeling nervous as they walked down the glossy marble hallway. After what seemed like a mile of walking they reached the large marble door to Vince McMahon's office. The front bodyguard pressed the intercom button and the door opened to let them in.

The McMahon office was simple. The room was matted with the same marble material the hallway was made of, large exotic potted plants in each corner, and a huge elegantly embroidered Oriental rug in the middle of the large open space. On top of the rug sat four metal chairs, and a few feet in front of those chairs sat Vincent Kennedy McMahon at his cherry wood desk with Lana and Fedoseev standing to his right and Zack Ryder and Shawn Michaels standing to his left. Vince McMahon looked to the bodyguards standing around John, Randy, and AJ signaling them to stand aside.

"Come in, you three." Vince said to them. They did as they were told, sitting down in the seats in front of him. "You all look good. Damn good." Vince then looked to AJ. "Most importantly, how are you feeling, April?" The question unnerved AJ for some reason, but answered him nonetheless.

"I'm doing well, Sir." She replied. Vince smiled and nodded. Fedoseev looked at him out the corner of his eye.

"Glad to hear it. I know the whole incident that happened at the bistro was traumatizing to say the least. We're doing everything in our power to take care of you and Claudio." John saw Randy shifting in his seat and could tell he was getting impatient.

"Uhh." John started. "Mister McMahon. Shawn here said you wanted to see us for something." Vince raised his eyebrows.

"Ah right." Vince leaned forward over his desk and looked directly at John and Randy. "I have a proposition for you two. Fedoseev. Explain to them what I'm talking about." Fedoseev walked from around Vince's desk and walked in front of it, catching the trio's attention.

"What if I told you…" Fedoseev started. "…that your chairman has sponsored research that leads to the creation of a chemical that allows humans to become naturally stronger, more efficient, more alert, and more focused than anything drug on the market today?" John and AJ looked at each other while Randy eyed Fedoseev with apathetic eyes.

"I'd say you're out of your mind and then I'd ask you what the hell that has to do with us being here right now." Randy popped, irritating Lana and making Zack Ryder discreetly shake his head trying to stifle a laugh. Fedoseev laughed at Randy's retort.

"You are funny. Randall, is it?" Randy nodded lazily. "Well, Randall, that news has quite a bit to do with you three. You see, Vince requested April to be here because I wanted to check on her and see how the chemical was affecting her. When we found out you were with her, we decided to have you personally escort her here so she would make it here safely." AJ's eyes had narrowed until it was not certain whether or not her sight was enabled.

"I beg your pardon…?" She said, her voice covered in anger. John and Randy looked at Vince McMahon with knife-like gazes.

"I was hired by Mister McMahon to create a serum that naturally enhances the body's already functioning processes. It is an alternative to steroids without the harmful and deadly side effects. However, we needed someone to use as an experiment. Mister McMahon said that you, April, were the best candidate. You are young, agile, strong, quick-witted…"

Neither three could believe what they were hearing. Vincent Kennedy McMahon, the millionaire with whom they entrusted their livelihoods, offered one of them up for scientific experimentation and observation without their consent. AJ was furious, and it took everything she had to keep from leaping out of her seat and onto Vince McMahon. John and Randy were just as angered if not angrier for Vince taking advantage of AJ while she was unable to decide for herself.

"So you're telling me…" AJ began, attempting to remain calm. "…that sometime or another –I'm assuming this "transaction" was done while I was comatose or even sometime before then- you injected me with some experimental steroid replacement and didn't ask me if I wanted to co-op with this?" Her voice had heightened in volume by the time she finished her question. Fedoseev looked back at Vince as if requesting the answer to her question. Vince stood up out of his chair.

"April," he started. "I know you wouldn't have agreed to it, and I needed someone-" AJ interrupted him.

"No, Vince! Nothing you can say to me makes this okay!" AJ stood up out of her seat and the bodyguards at the door went on the defense. "You used me as a guinea pig for a drug that hasn't been tested at all! You didn't care about what would happen or what it would do to me or anything! In the typical McMahon fashion, you just said "I want it this way" and made it happen regardless of who you hurt or broke to get it!" Vince knocked the lamp sitting on his desk off onto the floor and pointed at AJ with a stern look.

"You listen here, woman!" He shouted. "You're in my office, my world! You work for me! I made you!"

"Fuck this job!" AJ shouted back. "You didn't make me! _I made me!_ If I have to work somewhere else, I have no problem doing that! It's not like the WWE is doing anything with me anyhow. My problem is you putting my life in danger! Do you know what I've been going through because of you and your fucking research?" Vince's face softened.

"I do." He said as he sat back down in his seat. AJ furrowed her brow.

"What?"

"I've been watching you, April. Those headaches, that episode on Raw. That is the other reason I sent for you. You have been having side effects, April, and we want to see why." AJ felt that feeling return to her. She began to feel the pressure in her head as she angered. AJ slammed her fist on the table, leaving a crack in the marble while everyone aside from the bodyguards jumped at the sound as it echoed in the room.

"I'll tell you why!" she said. "Because you shot me up with your fucking super ooze!" Shawn cooked his head to one side.

"Hey." He said. "Vinnie Mac's only doing what he does best, and that's give to those in need. You needed the meds, he gave 'em to ya." John looked up after he heard Shawn say "Vinnie Mac" as he instantly tried to remember where he heard it. Fedoseev spoke.

"We simply want to run tests to see exactly how the serum is affecting you, Misses Brooks." He told AJ. It was then that John remembered where he heard "Vinnie Mac" recently. He looked at Vince with determined eyes.

"Where's Claudio?" He asked. His question made AJ think.

"Yeah, Vince." She said. "Where is Claudio? Isn't he supposed to be here for this "meeting" too?" Vince shook his head and made a hand gesture to the guards unbeknownst to John and Randy.

"Well John." Vince started. "You and Randy will be able to relay this information to him. You'll be seeing him shortly." The moment after that, Zack Ryder looked away as John and Randy were hit in the back of their heads by two of the bodyguards and we're knocked unconscious by the blow, making AJ yelp as the sound ring in her ears. She looked over in horror at her friends as they laid limp in their chairs. Then the other two bodyguards held both of AJ's arms to subdue her, and she struggled and fought them as they held her down in the chair. Vince looked back at Lana. The Russian woman walked over to AJ and pulled put a syringe filled with tranquilizer. She inserted the syringe into AJ's neck and AJ almost immediately felt the fight leave her body. Vince stood up back up out of his chair.

"What do you want us to do with these two, Sir?" Zack said as he stood over Randy. Vince waved his hand lazily.

"Throw them in the chamber with What's His Name." He told Zack. Zack furrowed his brows at the way Vince referred to Cesaro and then shook his head and went to help the bodyguards hoist the two men up on his shoulders and carry them out of the room.

* * *

"The girl at the desk said Room 281." Phil said. "This is it."

"Where is she then?" Celeste asked. PJ shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe she's in the shower or something." He said. "We could call her." Just then, Paige opened the door wondering who she heard talking outside. Her hair was wrapped in a towel as was her body, so it appeared that she had indeed just gotten out of the shower moments before.

"What are you guys doing here?" Paige asked them.

"We're looking for April." Phil told her. "She said she was going to see Cesaro almost four hours ago and she didn't come back. I figured you might have talked to her, cause she's not answering my texts." Paige became worried, as she knew it wasn't like AJ to ignore a text much less one from her husband.

"I'll check my phone again to be sure she didn't text me while I was in the shower, but I haven't heard from her either." Phil threw his hands up in defeat, making Paige grimace. "I'm sorry I can't be of anymore help, you guys. I can try to call her, but from what you guys have been going through, she may not answer."

All four of them started to get worried. AJ had disappeared and neither of them was able to get in contact with her, so they began fearing the worst. Phil was worried the most as horrid thoughts and scenarios phased through his mind like the wind passing through leaves. He ran his hands through his hair.

"We gotta find her." Phil said frantically. He then got an idea. "Let's go to the hospital Cesaro's at and see if anyone's seen her."

"Great idea, Phil." Celeste agreed.

"I'll come too." Paige said. "Let me get dressed. You guys come in and rest your feet."

* * *

Nikki laid motionless in the hospital bed thinking about what she had done to herself and how it came to that. She thought about John, her sister, AJ, and everyone else who had ever upset her. She cursed in her head. Nikki then heard what sounded like heeled shoes coming through the doorway. She turned to see her sister Brie staring at her. Nikki instantly began crying and hating that her sister had to see her in that condition. Brie started crying as well and leaned over to hug her sister.

"I'm so sorry, Brie." Nikki said through her tears. "I don't know how I let it get this far."

"I'm just glad you're okay, Nikki." Brie told her as she released the hug. "What on Earth were you thinking?" Nikki shook her head.

"I wasn't, Brie. I wasn't thinking. I was just mad, sad, and depressed all at once and it overwhelmed me. I'm so sorry." Nikki then looked away from her sister. "I'm sorry for everything. Everything I ever did to you, Brie, I'm sorry." Brie sat down in the chair next to Nikki's bed.

"Nikki." She started. "I'm your twin sister. We are supposed to get on each other's nerves. I'm sorry for saying you're an awful sister. I didn't mean that."

"But I was an awful sister, Brie. I was an awful person." Nikki tucked in her bottom lip. "I won't be a bad person anymore from now on. I'm gonna try to be a better sister to you, and a better person to everyone else. I have to learn to let go." Brie placed her hand on her sister's, and after that moment Triple H and Stephanie walked into the room with the Doctor and the Bellas' parents Jon Garcia and Kathy Colace. Kathy immediately walked up to Nikki and hugged her as tight as she could.

"Nikki, honey." She said to her. "I'm so glad you're alright."

"I'm sorry for worrying you like this." Jon walked up to Brie.

"I thought we told you to look after her, Brianna." He scolded.

"Jon!" Kathy harped. Stephanie placed her hand on Jon's shoulder.

"Mister Garcia." She began. "I don't think that now is a good time with Nikki's given condition."

"The hell it's not!" he shouted. "Brianna was supposed to watch Nikki and keep something like this from happening." Kathy stood to her feet and slapped Jon across the face as hard as she could.

"That's enough!" She said. "You promised me that you wouldn't do this here!"

"It's okay, Mom." Nikki said before looking at her father. "I am a grown woman and I am able to make my decisions. I just made bad decisions in the past, but not anymore." Nikki then looked at Stephanie. "Stephanie. I want to apologize to you and Paul for all the times I disrespected you, your company, and everything that goes on with the business. I had no right." Paul smiled.

"All's forgiven." He said. "You just get yourself together. Alright?" Nikki nodded and then everyone aside from Nikki turned their attention to Brie.

"Misses Danielson." The doctor started. "Have you made your decision?" Brie thought briefly as Nikki tried to figure out what he was talking about.

"I decided," Brie started. "…that it isn't my decision to make. It's Nikki's." She then looked to Nikki. "Nikki. As a precaution, Paul and Stephanie were told to consider Suicide Watch for you. They told me to choose whether or not to do it, but I think you're in your right mind and should decide for yourself." Nikki thought for a moment, then looked up to Stephanie.

"I want you to go through with it." She said, shocking her family. "But please make sure that a therapist joins whoever is supposed to be watching over me. I think I could use the help to recover." Stephanie nodded.

"We can definitely do that for you, Nicole." Stephanie said. Kathy kissed her daughter on the forehead.

"I'm so proud of you, Nicole." She said to her. "This is a big step for you, and we're with you all the way."

"Thank you, Mom." Nikki said. "You too, Brie. If you all don't mind, I'd like to leave here now."

"We can clear you once all your tests are done, Miss Garcia-Colace." The Doctor said. "I'll go and handle that now." The doctor stepped out of the room, and Brie hugged her sister again.


	9. Escaping Hell's Furnace

**A/N: Finally I get to type in some action! haha I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I apologize about only briefly touching the Bellas' story arch in this chapter. I'll try and shed more light on Brie's role more later on. Trust me. ;)**

AJ woke up in a daze. Her eyes were burning and her body was numb but her mind was awake and aware. Her hearing slowly revealed a faint beeping sound. The feeling began returning to her body but still could not move so she could not turn her head to see her surroundings. All she could see was a white ceiling and white lights fixated on it. AJ then heard footsteps but could not tell from which direction they came. As her body became able to move she was able to slowly move her neck to see where she was. AJ noticed a large television screen mounted on the wall to her left though she could not make out what was playing on it if anything. She slowly turned her neck to her right and saw what looked like an X-ray screen with X-rays of someone's brain. She then remembered the footsteps and returned to how she was when she woke up. However, it was too late as the person already noticed her movement.

"Ah." They said. "You're awake." AJ recognized the grainy Russian accent and knew immediately who it was. It was Fedoseev. "I was just finishing some tests." AJ went to scream but could not do so as her vocal cords had not been fully awakened. She swallowed in an attempt to moisten them.

"Where am I?" AJ asked in a gentle but audible voice. Fedoseev smiled at her as he picked up a valve.

"You are in my laboratory, young lady." He told her. "I must personally apologize about earlier. It was not my idea to bring harm to you or your friends. I merely wanted to examine your side effects as closely as possible and the only way for me to do that was for me to get you here, and Mister McMahon did that for me." AJ began to recall what happened in Vince McMahon's office and she instantly became furious.

"What did you do to me?" she asked Fedoseev.

"The serum I created is made to enhance your natural talents, April. It is designed to make you faster, stronger, and more alert. It is a healthy alternative to steroids which a lot of athletes here take to. However, you are having side effects." Fedoseev then looked at the valve. "Well, I thought they were side effects. This valve contains your blood. It has accepted the serum very well. You've accepted it so well, in fact, that the serum has enhanced your mental capabilities. Everything you've been experiencing up to this point is your body's response to my serum." Fedoseev smiled. "Your mind is strengthening beyond your comprehension, April, and you are getting stronger with each passing moment. My serum is turning you into the next stage of evolution. A goddess, if you will, and it is all thanks to my work and that old rich American's money!"

AJ could not believe what she heard. The serum Fedoseev created to make humans better at being humans was slowly turning her into a "goddess." As her body returned to normal, she realized neither John Cena, Randy Orton, nor Cesaro were in the laboratory with her and the Russian scientist.

"Where are my friends?" AJ asked him. Fedoseev immediately frowned and turned his head, completely ignoring her question. "Are you ignoring me? I asked you where my friends are." The scientist quickly turned back to her.

"They are to be killed." He said to her. "We can't have anyone knowing about this until it is proven to be successful."

"What!?" AJ began to struggle trying to set herself free of the restraints that tied her to the table. "Let me out of here! Let me go, you fuck stain!"

"Now, that is no way for a young lady to speak." Fedoseev said while filling a syringe with the same blue tranquilizer fluid that Lana injected her with. AJ noticed it and struggled harder and began screaming at the top of her lungs. "No one can hear you in here. You may stop the screaming."

"No! Let me out!" That moment, the syringe in Fedoseev's hand shattered, the glass shards cutting his hand and the fluid spilling on the wounds. Fedoseev shouted in pain as he witness AJ break out of the steel restraints and get up from the table. Before he fainted, he pulled a contraption out of his coat pocket and went to press the button that caused the alarm sound off in the laboratory, but the tranquilizer caused him to faint before he could do so. AJ walked over him, making sure to step on him as she walked out of the laboratory.

* * *

Celeste, PJ, Paige, and Phil had made it to the hospital. The three got out of the car, and Paige just happened to spot Natalie and Tyson sitting at the traffic light. She pointed at their car.

"Look." She said. "That looks like Tyson and Nattie over there." Her three friends looked over to see that it in fact was Tyson and Natalya with someone else in the back seat they did not recognize.

"Quick, Paige." PJ said. "Call her." Paige pulled her phone out and dialed Natalya. She answered after the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Nattie. It's Saraya. Can you turn around and come to the hospital behind you?"

"I have Danielle with me." Paige cursed to herself.

"Well, AJ is missing and I was wondering if you spoke to her recently."

"I haven't." Natalya sounded surprised at hearing about AJ's disappearance. "I'm sorry."

It's okay. We'll find her. Tell Danielle I said hello." Paige hung up the phone and then turned to her friends.

"Nattie hasn't spoken to her either."

"Fuck!" Phil cursed out loud. PJ put his hands on the smaller man's shoulders.

"Don't sweat it, Bud." He said. "We'll find her. We just have to keep looking and asking around for her." Phil looked down at his feet with a defeated look on his face.

"I know that." He said. "That won't stop me from worrying." Celeste looked at the two men.

"We'll just have to find her quick. She couldn't have gone too far. I noticed her car in the parking lot. She's on foot, wherever she is." Just then, a older gray-haired man whom was sitting on a bench near the four of them looked their way.

"Excuse me." The old man said, getting their attention. "I couldn't help hearing that you were looking for someone."

"Yeah." Phil said as he walked up to the man. "Her name's April Brooks. She's about five feet tall, tan skin, long black hair, kinda skippy looking." Paige looked at Phil with a strange face.

"Umm…." She said. "Phil. AJ's 'kinda skippy looking?' Seriously? If AJ finds out you called her that, she's gonna kick you in the bollocks."

"She'll just kiss the wounds later on, so whatever!" Phil replied. Paige's eyes widened.

"Did you just make a sex joke?"

"I don't fucking know! What the hell are 'bollocks' anyway?"

"They're those things that supposedly dangle between your legs. Though, sometime I have to call yours into question." Celeste rolled her eyes.

"You guys!" she harped before looking to the old man. "The girl he described to you, sir. Have you seen her?" He nodded.

"Yup. I saw her get in a blue sports car with John Cena and Randy Orton." The man whistled. "That girl should be a race car driver! She sped outta here like Ricky Petty on the last lap of the Daytona Five-Hundred!" Phil twisted his mouth.

"Yup." He said plainly, detesting how reckless AJ drove. "That's her."

"Did you see which way she went?" PJ asked. The old man pointed down the street behind them.

"They went that way. Not sure exactly where." Paige went to hug the old man.

"It's okay." She said to him. "You've been a big help. Thank you." Paige let go, and the old man tipped his hat to them.

"Well," PJ started. "There are only two places down that way that they could have gone. There's a White Castle down that way and if I remember correctly, one of Vince McMahon's conference buildings is down that way also."

"That's right." Phil said.

"Well," Paige started. "If Cena's with them then there's no way they went to White Castle, so they had to go to see Vince. I know exactly where it is. I'll drive."

* * *

"Thank you for letting me stay here tonight, Brie." Nikki said to her sister as she unpacked her belongings.

"It's no problem at all." Brie replied. "I actually was beginning to miss having you around. I miss us." Nikki went to hug her sister.

"I'm gonna work hard to make this right, Brie. I promise you'll have Nikki-Bear back in no time." Brie smiled.

"I'm glad to hear that." Nikki then released the hug and looked at her sister.

"How've you been doing, Brie? You know, with everything?" Brie's expression changed from cheerful to gloomy as she sat down on the bed.

"Honestly," she started. "I've been terrible. I've been trying to make the best of the situations but the harder I try, the more I get reminded of him. Every little thing brings back memories. Then Stephanie called me about you and I just broke. I cried the entire drive here. I had to."

Nikki had no words. She truly felt sorry for her sister and felt terrible that she had been so selfish and self-centered that she forgot about Brie's struggles. All she could do was hug her again.

"I'm so sorry, Brie." She finally said. "Everything will be alright. We'll get through this together. From here on out, it's you and me."

"The Bellas are back!" Brie said with joy as she held her hand up for a high five. Nikki happily obliged. She then thought of someone and pulled out her phone.

"Who are you calling?" Brie asked.

"I'm calling John." Nikki said. "I need to talk to him and tell him how I feel."

* * *

Lana patrolled the prison-inspired cells to make neither of her three prisoners tried to escape. There were four cells, but only the two in the middle were used. One of them kept John Cena and Randy Orton and the other kept Cesaro. John and Randy were still conscious but Cesaro was not.

"Let us out, you fucking bitch!" Randy harped as he struggled with the chains wrapped around his wrists. Lana rolled her eyes.

"Such a waste of a man." She said to him. "Why don't you silence yourself and save your energy. Though, you will not need it where my father is sending you." Lana laughed and sat on her stool. She then heard a knock on the large metal door and cursed to herself before opening it to reveal Zack Ryder.

"Your shift's over." Zack said to her. "You can take a break now." Lana stared at him.

"You're late again." She said. "Can't you do anything right? You were late picking me up the other night so we ended up late to duty. You forgot to turn on the location devices I placed on April and that unlucky husband of hers. What else will you mess up?" Lana walked up to him and got as close as she could to him. "You had better not let either of them out of your sight." She phased past him and slammed the metal door behind her, leaving Zack to look after the three men in the cells. Zack then heard Randy laughing.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" Zack snapped. Randy shook his head.

"Boy, that bitch's got you whipped!" Randy said, making Zack angry. John looked at Zack and then over at Randy.

"Randy." John called out. "That's enough."

"What, man? The guy's a fucking tool. Look at him. He's got 'Use me' written all over his face!"

"Randy! Stop it!" Randy quieted.

"Alright man. Fine." Randy sat back down on the ground and John stood up and looked at Zack.

"Matt." He said. "What happened to you?" Zack narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean 'What happened', John?" He replied. "You know what happened! As soon as Vince gave up power of the company, they threw me to the wolves. They cut me, John. They got rid of me and didn't even bat an eye! I worked hard for that company!"

"And that made you turn into a less-than-successful mercenary?"

"Vince gave me a job and I said I would stick with him no matter where he went."

"But is this really what you want?" Zack fell silent and John waited a moment before continuing. "The Matthew Cardona I remember is a trendsetter with a good heart and a strong soul. He's no mercenary." Zack plopped down on the stool in defeat.

"They're going to kill you guys." He finally said with guilt. "Because you came with AJ and know what you know, they're going to kill you." John blinked. He knew that Zack did not want that to happen.

"Zack." He said. "Let us out."

"I can't do that, John. They'll-" Randy cut him off.

"They'll what?" he said. "Kill you? If you're telling the truth and they really are gonna kill us, if ya let us out then we'll have to keep ya from getting killed to pay ya back." Randy's proposition made Zack think.

"I know you, Matt." John said. "This isn't you. Don't associate yourself with this. You know this isn't right, so do the right thing." Zack looked as if he were on the verge of tears. John's final plea broke him. "Little bro. Don't let this happen." Zack ran his hands through his hair and paced for a brief moment before ultimately deciding to set his former mentor and Randy Orton free. He pulled the keys off his belt loop and unlocked the door, slowly pulling it open to keep it from making too much noise.

"I knew you could do it." John praised as Zack undid the chains around his wrists. Zack undid Randy's chains and got surprised by Randy as he went to hug him.

"Sorry about the whole whipped thing." Randy said to him. "I was just trying to ruffle your feathers a bit." Zack shook his head.

"It's fine." Zack said. "I know your mouth is as dirty as a bathroom mop head." Zack then walked out of the cell and looked over at Cesaro who was still unconscious on the floor. "What are you going to do about this guy?" John stepped out of the cell and realized that the man Zack spoke of was indeed Cesaro.

"He's with me." John said. Zack eyed him as he read John's expression. A look of surprise fell upon his face when he realized what John meant.

"You're kidding." Zack said. John shook his head. "Wow. I would have never guessed."

"No time, dumbasses." Randy said. "Get Chrome Dome up and out so we can blow this joint." Zack quickly opened the cell and attempted to wake Cesaro up.

"Hey, hey!" Zack said as he shook the larger man in an attempt to wake him. Eventually, Cesaro awoke. He immediately stood up and fell into a defensive stance.

"Get back!" Cesaro shouted. Zack held his hands up in defeat.

"I'm helping you out, man! I swear."

"Fuck you! You put me in here!" John ran over to Cesaro to calm him.

"Claudio!" John said. "Calm down! He's telling the truth. Matt let us go just a moment ago." Cesaro then looked at Randy then back to John.

"Let you go? You were captured? By who?"

"Vince and his fucking guards, Chrome Dome!" Randy harped. "Can we get a move on?"

"I know how to get out of here." Zack said. "Follow me!"

* * *

AJ walked calmly through down the hallway, appearing not to care who saw her. Three guards happened to spot her as she walked past an open hallway.

"Hey you!" One of them yelled. "Stop right there!" AJ stopped rigidly, her emotionless face not moving to see who had seen her. The men ran to contain her. One of them was met with a hard left backhand that connected with a bone-shattering thud. The victim fell hard in front of his comrades. The shorter man pulled out a communicator and spoke into it.

"She's loose!" he said. "I need back-" Before he could finish, AJ walked in front of him with abnormal speed and effortlessly broke his neck causing him to fall to the floor lifeless. The last guard swung at AJ with a right hook. She dodged it with surprising ease, however, which infuriated the guard and caused to throw another right hook and a left hook. AJ dodged the two attacks and proceeded to slap the man so hard across the face that the impact knocked him unconscious. She inspected his body to find a pistol he was holding and took it. AJ then looked on the other two and managed to find an additional pistol with a spare magazine. She removed the bullets in the pistol and added them to the magazine before taking it and continuing her search for the exit. After turning down several hallways she finally found an elevator. AJ walked in and immediately shot the camera in the right corner of the ceiling. She saw that the elevator led to the third floor. She pressed the button and the ride quickly descended. As she walked out, she heard a familiar voice coming from the hallway to her right.

"April!" it said. She looked over and saw John Cena, Randy Orton, Cesaro, and Zack Ryder. She ran to them and hugged them as tight as her arms allowed.

* * *

Lana walked down the hallway to relieve Zack of his shift when she noticed the massive metal door was left open. She shook her head and cursed aloud saying "dumbass" in her native Russian tongue. She walked in the room and then instantly pulled her communicator out.

"Mister McMahon!" Lana yelled. "The prisoners have escaped! They're loose in the building!" She ended the transmission and moments later the alarm began going off. Lana was fuming. "That idiot! I knew he could not be trusted!"

The five of them heard the alarm go off. Zack cursed to himself.

"Lana must've found out you're gone." He said. "Dammit."

"Hey!" John harped. "We need to get out of here or we'll be locked up again or worse. Now focus, Matt." Just then, a large group of guards stormed the other end of the hallway.

"Fucking fantastic." Randy said. AJ stepped in front of her friends and proceeded to shoot each of the guards with accuracy rivaling that of a sniper. All the guards were shot down and AJ put the gun back behind her belt.

"What the fuck!" Randy said. "When the hell'd you learn how to shoot like that?" AJ shrugged.

"About three minutes ago." She answered. "We should get going before more come." She turned to Zack Ryder. "Lead the way." They used the stairs to get to the ground floor of the building. Upon entry, however, they were met by a lobby full of armed guards.

"Get ready to fight for your lives!" John said as he and his friends went into defensive stances. AJ, however, simply stood still with a stoic expression on her face. One of the guards pointed a gun at the group.

"Hands up!" he shouted. AJ's left eye twitched and she raised her hands as she was requested to. The guard then heard nearly the entire group of armed guards fall to the ground unconscious. He slowly turned to see what had happened then quickly turned back to the five escapees.

"Don't move!" AJ quickly snatched the gun out of his hand and pointed it back at him, making him jump and stutter. Instead of shooting him, she broke the gun in half with nothing but her own hands. The man ran past all the guards still standing to try and escape, but ran into an invisible wall. He placed his hands around to try to make sense of what was happening to no avail. The remaining guards ran for the group but were stopped almost immediately and lifted one by one into the air as AJ walked past them. John, Randy, Cesaro, and Zack all looked on in amazement and slight horror as they slowly followed AJ to the guard who point the now broken gun at them. The guard looked terrified when she finally reached him.

"P-p-please don't hurt me!" he said. "I-I just w-w-work here!" AJ smiled sweetly.

"Well," she said to him. "Do you mind opening these walls for us? We just want to go home." The man went from terrified to emotionless. He walked over to the reception desk and pressed the button that released the metal walls blocking the doors, and sure enough the walls lifted revealing the outside night sky. AJ, John, Randy, Cesaro, and Zack ran out of the building, and the metal walls fell back down as soon as they all safely made it out but not before AJ could throw her gun back inside.

"Oh my fucking god, yes!" Randy said. "Freedom!" He then noticed that there were people staring at all of them and huffed. "What are y'all looking at?" The people then scattered and continued with what they were doing. The four men then turned to AJ who was sitting on the steps trying to catch her breath.

"April." Cesaro said as he sat down next to her. "What is going on? What happened back there?"

"Yeah." Randy harped. "What the fuck was that Poltergeist shit you pulled in there? And where did you learn how to snipe with a fucking pistol!?" It was then that they all saw Phil, PJ, Celeste, and Paige pull up. Phil bolted out of the car and embraced his wife as his worries faded from mind's eye.

"April!" Celeste shouted through tears of relief. "Where were you? We were worried sick!"

"Why didn't you answer my texts?" Phil asked her. By that time, AJ felt overwhelmed with questions and the lingering feeling that Vince McMahon would find all of them outside of his conference building.

"You guys!" AJ shouted. "Can we please just leave here? I'll answer any questions you have if we can just leave this place! I don't feel safe here." Everyone looked at each other.

"Of course babe." Phil said to her. "Whatever you want. I'm just glad you're safe."

"You can't go back to your hotel, you two." Zack said to them. "It's been bugged. Vince can listen in whenever he wants when Lana turns it on." Paige eyed Zack with slight anger but decided that AJ's request was more important than questioning the older man.

"I've got a home near here." Randy told everyone. "We can all crash there while we get all this shit figured out."

"Good idea." John said. "Zack. Claudio. You ride with me and Randy. Everyone else, follow us." They all quickly got into the two vehicles and drove off.

* * *

Vince was staring at the screen on his wall with Shawn Michaels standing beside him when Lana walked in with Fedoseev.

"Sir." Lana said. "They escaped. Matthew Cardona aided them." Vince pursed his lips together.

"Vincent." Fedoseev started. "You must get April back to me. Her mind is getting stronger by the minute."

"I saw what she did to my guards." Vince said plainly before turning to the Russian natives. "What have you done to her? You were only supposed to test your steroid replacement on her."

"I've done what you asked of me. That is all. How her body reacted to the serum has nothing to do with my science!" Vince slammed his fist on his desk.

"That is bullshit and you know it! Not only was she able to break out of your tamper-proof lab, she killed dozens of my men single-handedly, most of them without even touching them! That is far beyond what I asked you to do!" Fedoseev walked up to Vince.

"You listen to me." Fedoseev said. "April is slowly becoming stronger than you can even begin to imagine. She could become a weapon strong enough to take down an entire city with as little as a thought. Now, I need to create a serum to counteract the serum I injected into her so that does not happen." Vince shook his head.

"I'm done with this, Sergei!" He said to the man. "I'm done sponsoring this. Her husband is already going to take my damned company from me because of this! Get out of my office now! You and that twit!" The two Russians stomped out of the office and Vince rubbed his temples.

"He can't take all your bread for this." Shawn reassured. "Just what's still attached to the WWE, which isn't much since you handed the company to Paul and Stephanie." Vince blinked as Shawn's information gave him a dark idea…


	10. Coming Together

**_Update! - I read back through this chapter and realized I uploaded the older version I neglected to delete before I left work. The version you're reading now is the updated version with one part removed to be saved for later chapters (It felt rushed to me). If you read the one before this, then I am sorry for somewhat putting out that spoiler. :(_**

**A/N: There are a few Russian words and phrases in this chapter. Translations below.**

**:Ublyudok- Bastard**

**:Otets- Father**

**:Moya doch'- My daughter**

**There you have them. I hope enjoy this chapter. I'm working hard to update this as soon as I can. Thanks for waiting, and of course reviews are welcome. :)**

"It seems like my actions are finally coming back to me, Michael." Vince said to Shawn Michaels as he sat back down in his chair. "However, what you just said gave me an idea." Shawn looked at Vince confused.

"What did I just say?" he asked. Vince smirked.

"Phil and April can only sue me for what I have still invested in the WWE since I signed the company over to my daughter because April still works for them."

"I don't follow what you're getting at."

"If I can someone pin all this on Paul and Stephanie, then they'll sue them and run the company down to rubble. It will be like killing two birds with one stone!" Shawn could not believe what he was hearing.

"What are you saying, Vince?"

"I wanted to end the WWE years ago. I am getting old, and no one could manage it like me so I wanted it to end with me. The reason I gave Paul and Stephanie the reigns was because I just knew they would fail and destroy the company for me. I didn't think they would do so well. I didn't think they would get such high reviews and praise." Vince stood to his feet. "Sergei thinks I called him to help him be known to the world as a scientist or whatever, but the real reason I called him was to destroy the WWE with propaganda. I hired him three years ago to make an illegal muscle enhancer and I would use the WWE label to sponsor it outside of the radar. When Sergei finished it, I needed a weak scapegoat, so I chose one of their most popular Divas to use it on."

"April." Shawn said.

"Yes. She's always taking time off so it sounded like the best option. It would look like she took time off to take the drug and better herself illegally. But I knew she wouldn't willingly subject herself to it, so I hired you and Matthew to follow her. Sergei's daughter Catherine offered her help in exchange for a job with the WWE. I used Catherine to scope April out while she worked and Matthew to keep an eye on her after hours, though the paparazzi did a lot of that for me. When Matthew found out where she would be the night of the whole Bistro fiasco, I told him to take a backpack to the area and plant it where it would cause a distraction. He told me he gave it to some fan of his who noticed him and thought it was a souvenir. I assume that fan went to the bistro when it went off."

"Wait a damned minute, Vince." Shawn interrupted. "You mean to tell me that 'backpack' you gave Cardona was a fucking bomb? Does he know that he was carrying a bomb, Vince?" Vince stood up and faced Shawn.

"No one knows except me," Vince pointed at Shawn. "..And now you."

"People died, Vince! Daniel Bryan was killed by your damned bomb! What the hell were you thinking?"

"I trusted Matthew to do what I asked him to do for once and not pawn it off on someone else! He was supposed to place it somewhere away from people, not in a crowded eatery! His stupidity caused that to happen."

"Vince, you were the only one who knew that explosives were in that bag."

"They have no way of pinning it on me. The fan that had the bag was killed in the explosion."

"So if Matt didn't give the bag to that fan, it would have been him who got blown up."

"It is what it is." Shawn looked at Vince and decided enough was enough.

"You're a murderer." He said. "And when the feds hear about this you're gonna pay for all you did."

"Don't forget." Vince started as he secretly opened his drawer. "Your hands are just as dirty as mine are."

"I accepted your offer because you told me you needed to get that man Cesaro here. That's all I signed up for! I've got no dealing with killing people!" Shawn turned around to head out of the room. "Count me out!" Knowing that when Shawn made up his mind that there was no convincing him otherwise, Vince knew there was no other way to keep him quiet. He silently pulled a pistol with a silencer out of the open drawer, aimed it at the back of Shawn's head, and shot him. Shawn fell to the floor and a pool of blood began spreading where his face met the marble floor. Vince pulled out a cloth and rubbed the handle free of his handprints before placing it back in his drawer. He pressed a button on his phone.

"I need all hands up here." Vince said. "I have a mission for the full staff." He hung up the phone and spoke to a lifeless Shawn Michaels. "I hated to have to do that. You were such a good friend."

* * *

Randy drove while Zack sat up front. John and Cesaro sat in the back seat. The ride to Randy's home was an hour and a half away from where they left and they were about twenty minutes into the drive. After the events past, the four men were silent seemingly trying to gather their composure back together. Randy drove carefully and cautiously which was rather unsettling for John. The tension of figuring out what to say to Cesaro also weighed heavy on him. Zack kept quiet as he felt he was still in ill graces with the other three men and did not want to spark an argument of any sort. Cesaro kept quiet simply because he was unable to think of anything to say. However, something ended up coming to mind.

"What did you need to talk to me about, John?" He asked Cena, catching him off-guard.

"Uhh." John struggled to find words to reply.

"Shit, John." Randy said. "I already know about this, so you can go ahead and talk to 'em. Geez." Zack took that as a cue to plug the headphones he kept in his jacket pocket into his phone and begin listening to music. "Look. Matt can't hear you now, so go on and talk to the guy." Cesaro furrowed his brow.

"Is it that serious?" he asked.

"Just listen, Claudio." John started. "I've been an asshole to you, and I'm sorry. I should have never stood you up. I should have answered your calls, your texts. I should have done better by you." Cesaro did not know what to say in response to John's confession.

"All you had to do was say you weren't interesting in talking to me." Cesaro said. "I would have been fine with it." John waved his hands.

"That isn't it, though." He said. "I do want to talk to you. I like you, Claudio." John surprised Cesaro with that comment.

"You like me?"

"Yes. I like you. You're a good person."

"Wow." Cesaro said, almost in disbelief that the great John Cena said he liked him. "Thank you, John. Thank all three of you for saving me back there. Including you, Matthew, despite you being the one who put me in there."

"Look, man." Zack said as he turned to face Cesaro. "I'm really sorry about that. I was going through some stuff and thought Vince would help me get back on track. I had no clue he was doing that type of stuff."

"Don't worry about it." Randy said. "You know now so now if anything happens and you're to blame, we are kicking the one-hundred percent grade-A horse shit outta you!" Zack winced.

"You won't have to worry about me." Zack replied. Randy laughed to himself before turning back to the road.

* * *

In the SUV behind Randy, Phil sat in the back seat with AJ who was lying her head his lap sleeping and PJ who sat next to her. Celeste sat up front with Paige who was driving.

"I still want to know where the hell they were." Paige harped.

"We all do." Phil said to her. "April's asleep right now, though. We'll have to wait until we get to Randy's."

"Isn't he married?" Celeste asked. "How will be able to keep us with his family there?"

"Randy hasn't been married for two years." Paige explained. Celeste looked shocked.

"Really?"

"Yes really. Alanna is staying with his ex-wife now. He gets her every other weekend."

"No kidding. I was with the WWE two years ago. How do you know that and I don't?" Paige shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know. Did you ever try talking to Randy at all?" Celeste thought about it and realized that aside from questions about the company, she did not know much about any of the wrestlers' personal lives minus Phil and April's.

"I guess not." Paige laughed. She then scanned the scenery as she drove.

"His place must be really nice." Paige said. "It's pretty far out."

"I just hope there's something to eat." PJ said. "I'm starving." Phil looked down at a resting AJ as his friends spoke amongst each other.

"What the hell happened to you today?" He asked her in his head.

* * *

"Just give him time, Nikki." Brie told her sister as she tried to call John Cena's phone once more. "He might still be upset." Nikki looked down at her phone. She tried to call John seven times counting the call she just ended.

"Maybe you're right." She said. "I should just give him some time before I talk to him. I hope he's doing okay. Part of me still loves him." Brie put her hand on top of Nikki's.

"I know, Nikki. It'll get easier for you…for both of us." Brie then had an idea.

"I know what would cheer you up." She said. "Let's go find some dairy-free ice cream and a good movie to laugh at. What do you think?" Nikki smiled.

"Dairy-free, Brie?" she asked while giving Brie a sarcastic look.

"Okay. We'll get regular ice cream just this once." Nikki hugged Brie as tight as she could and the twins stood up to grab their things and head out of their room. After they walked out and closed the door, they walked down the hallway. Nikki then noticed someone familiar to her walking their direction.

"Brie." She said. "Isn't that…" The man stopped in his tracks. "Nick Nemeth?" Dolph Ziggler all but ran to the sisters.

"Brie! Nikki!" Dolph greeted the twins. "I didn't know you were staying here." Surprisingly, it was Nikki who stepped out to hug Dolph with a tight hug.

"Nick." She started. "How are you?"

"To be honest, I've been better." Brie noticed his tone.

"You do sound down." She said. "What's the matter?" Dolph waved off the question politely.

"Never mind me. How are you two doing? I haven't gotten a chance to see you since the ceremony." It took more strength than Brie anticipated to keep from crying at the mention of her husband's memorial ceremony.

"We're making it." Nikki then looked at Dolph.

"You know." She started. "We're all going on a tough time. Me and Brie were going out to get ice cream and movies, Nick. Would you like to come with us?" Brie looked at her sister and smiled at the abnormally kind gesture. Dolph smiled.

"That sounds like a good idea." He replied. "I'm staying with Rami. Mind if I invite him so he's not alone?"

"That cute ginger boy?" Nikki said, making Brie look at her with eyes and a smile of disbelief. "Sure."

"Great." Dolph said. "I'll go get him. Give me one quick second."

"It's okay." Nikki said. "We'll come with you." Dolph nodded and walked off. Then Brie looked at Nikki.

"Gee, Hot Box." Brie said to Nikki. "You really don't waste any time. Do you?" Nikki giggled.

"I just said he was cute." Nikki said in defense. "I think Rami is adorable." Brie laughed.

"Whatever, Hot Box!"

* * *

The group of Randy, John, Cesaro, Zack, Paige, Celeste, PJ, Phil, and AJ finally made it to Randy's beautiful home. Randy got out to open the door to his home, followed by everyone else.

"Alright ladies and gents." Randy said. "Make yourselves at home. Alanna's with her mom this week, so the whole house is free." After about ten minutes, AJ finally woke up after Phil tapped her a few times on her shoulder.

"Are we there?" AJ said groggily. Phil nodded.

"Yeah." He said. "We're at Randy's." AJ got up and got out of the vehicle. The couple walked into the home and noticed everyone sitting in the various sofas in the living room, seemingly waiting on Phil and AJ to join them.

"Get over here, AJ!" Paige harped. "You've got a story to tell us!" AJ grimaced at Paige's comment. She sat down in the open seat next to Zack and Phil sat in the one next to Celeste and PJ. AJ took a deep breath as she gathered the strength to tell her friends her story.

"Well," she started. "It started when I left my room to visit Claudio. When I got there he had already left or so I thought. The guy at the desk told me he left John and Randy. I walked out of the hospital and ended up running into John and Randy who were also looking for Claudio, which threw me off because the desk guy told me he left with them. I called him and he answered and told me that Vince McMahon wanted to see me and him, so the three of us went to Vince's conference building here in the city."

"I never called you, April." Cesaro told her. AJ nodded.

"I know, Claudio." She replied. "I'm getting to that." AJ took a breath and continued her story. "Well, the receptionist greeted us when we walked in and lead us to Vince's office. Catherine was there, Shawn Michaels was standing next to Vince, and Zack was standing next to Catherine. We sat down and Vince's Russian science guy told us that they had made a drug or something that enhanced natural human strength. Kind of like "organic" steroids."

"Organic Steroids?" PJ asked rhetorically. AJ nodded. Randy then butted in.

"And get this…" Randy started. "They used that stuff on April to "test" it and make sure it's safe!" Phil immediately angered.

"What?" He said as he stood to his seat.

"Phil, please." AJ pleaded. Phil threw his jacket down into the chair. The jacket barely missed Celeste.

"No, Babe! I knew that fucking fossil was up to no good!" Celeste calmly placed her hand on Phil's shoulder.

"Phil." Celeste called out. "It won't do any good shouting in here." She then took a deep breath. "We're all pissed off right now, but we should let April finish telling us what happened." Phil huffed but ultimately decided that Celeste was right. He sat down and offered the floor back to his wife.

"Well," AJ began in a stoic voice. "We then found out that it wasn't Claudio who had called us and told us to meet Vince there. It was Shawn Michaels. John figured that out. The bodyguards knocked John and Randy out…" Randy cursed under his breath. "…and Catherine put me to sleep. I woke up in the science guy's lab on a table. He told me I was having side effects and said that my brain was getting stronger. Then he told me John and Randy were gonna be killed for knowing about what happened to me, so I broke out to try to find them. When I found them, they were with Matt and said that he helped them get out. We got surrounded by Vince's bodyguards so I killed them and we were able to get out of the building." Randy broke in again.

"She poltergeisted their asses!" He said. Phil furrowed his brow.

"She did what?" he asked.

"She dropped most of them with jazz hands, broke dude's gun in half _with her hands_ and blocked him in with some force field! April's awesome!" Celeste, PJ, Paige, and Phil looked at AJ waiting for an explanation. AJ looked down at her feet.

"He's not lying." AJ said to them. "I couldn't believe it either when I was told but it explained everything I've been feeling lately." Paige then crossed her arms and began ruminating.

"What exactly can you do, AJ?" she asked her friend. AJ moved over to the smaller seat near the large television mounted on the wall.

"That's just it." AJ replied. "I don't know. I started hearing voices and then I realized that they weren't just voices. I was actually hearing people's thoughts. Then I started to see colorful veins pulsing through everything. I don't know what that is. That night at Raw when Nikki hit me and I pushed her without touching her was the only time I had done that until tonight. That's when I found out I'm able to move things with my thoughts."

Paige merely blinked at the answer to her question. It sounded absurd, but she knew AJ well enough to know that she would not lie about something of such magnitude. The British native decided it was best she see what AJ's abilities first hand.

"Prove it." Paige said to her, making everyone eye her.

"Prove what, Saraya?" AJ asked. Paige crossed her arms.

"I want to see you do something." John huffed at Paige's request.

"Come on, Saraya." He said, only to be ignored. AJ waved.

"It's okay, John." AJ said, her voice slowly becoming monotonic. "Right now I have complete control of my body and its functions. I can make myself faster, smarter, and stronger and I am also able to heal myself quicker than the average human. I can also see the life force of other living things and tell how strong or how faint it is which means I can tell you any injuries, or ailments you may have. I can hear other people's thoughts like they're multiple conversations in my head going on at once." AJ stood up from her chair and faced her friends. "Lastly, I can control matter weighing about two tons or less. That amount grows as time passes." AJ then looked to Paige. "What would you like to see, Saraya?" Paige gave her a look of confusion.

"I…" was all Paige could muster. After hearing AJ say she had no knowledge of her skills, she suddenly knew everything she was capable of and was aware that she would only become stronger and more adept. That seemed to scare the British woman. As if he knew that Paige needed to be saved, Randy broke in.

"Aren't you guys hungry or something?" he said. "I'm starving! I can stick a pizza in the oven."

"You know what?" John added. "That's a great idea. Let's pop a movie too while we're at it." PJ sat up in his seat next to his wife.

"Now you're talking!" he said, making Celeste shake her head. AJ slumped down on the floor.

"I'm actually really tired." She said. "Do you all mind if I get some sleep?"

"Go ahead." Randy told her. "You can have Alanna's room. It's the one upstairs with all the Gumball stickers on it." AJ knew exactly what he meant by Gumball stickers as she watched the cartoon often. She stood up to walk upstairs.

"You want me to come lay with you?" Phil asked her. AJ shook her head.

"Not if you're not tired. You can stay down here if you want to."

"Are you sure?" Phil put his hand on AJ's shoulder. AJ could feel his pulse course over her like a river.

"I'm sure." AJ replied before kissing him. "You eat. I'll be upstairs." With that, AJ walked up the stairs and left her friends to their own devices.

* * *

"Are you sure we shouldn't go back and see if they're okay, Nattie?" Summer Rae asked Natalya as they pulled up to Tyson and Natalya's house. She had been trying to convince her two hosts to see about helping to find AJ for nearly the entire ride but to no avail, Natalya and Tyson insisting Summer get to a bed and get some sleep.

"I'm sure they found April by now, Danielle." Tyson said. "Besides, you've had a rough night. You gotta get some rest." He opened the car door and got out. He then walked over to open Natalya and Summer Rae's door for them. "Come on. You need some sleep." Summer Rae shook her head.

"I just can't sleep knowing AJ may be missing." Summer told them. "Could you please call Paige and find out if they found her? I don't have her number. Otherwise I'd call myself." Natalya willingly pulled her phone out and dialed Paige's number and turned the speakerphone on so that Summer Rae could hear.

"Hello?" Paige answered after only one ring.

"Hey Saraya. It's Nat. Did you guys find April?"

"We most certainly did, and she had one fuck of a story for us!"

"Really? Is she alright?"

"Well, yes and no. I'll have to get her to tell you about it. I wouldn't be able to explain no matter what words I used."

"As long as she's okay. That's what matters. I just wanted to call and check on you guys. We're gonna get some sleep. Talk with you soon."

"Alright. Sleep tight." Natalya ended the conversation and noticed Summer Rae sigh with great relief.

"Thank you so much, Nattie." Summer said. "I'm glad they found her." She then looked at Tyson. "Thank both of you for taking me in tonight. I just couldn't sleep in that hotel room by myself with all this on my mind." Natalya hugged her.

"It's no bother." She said. "Now come on. I know you're tired. We'll show where you're sleeping tonight." The three walked inside the house and Summer began thinking to herself.

"What story did AJ tell them?" Summer asked herself silently as she listened to her hosts tell her where her room would be. She then called out to get their attention.

"Everything okay, Danielle?" Tyson asked.

"I was just wondering if it would be too much to ask for some cantaloupe." Natalya and Tyson looked at each other.

"Do we have cantaloupe?" Natalya asked Tyson. He shook his head. "We'll have to go get some then."

* * *

Triple H and Stephanie finally arrived home. The two got out of their ride and started for the door. Stephanie noticed her youngest daughter Vaughn peaking through the window and the middle child Murphy pulling her down. Stephanie smiled.

"Looks like Simone let the kids wait up for us." Stephanie said as the two walked up to the front door of their home. The moment Triple H stuck the house key in the door they heard their children run for the door. Triple H could not help but to laugh before opening the door to three screaming little girls jumping up and down.

"Daddy, daddy!" the eldest daughter Aurora said as she showed her parents her hands. "Simone painted my nails for me!"

"She did?" Triple H said with excitement. "Let me see." He bent over to look closer at them and the moment he did, Vaughn jumped on his back.

"They're beautiful, honey." Stephanie told Aurora. Aurora hugged her mother.

"I wanted red, but Simone told me pink is better." Stephanie smiled.

"Well she was right. Pink is much prettier." The family then heard Simone running to catch the children only to find that they were caught by their parents.

"I'm so sorry, Mister and Misses Levesque." Simone said. "I told them not to run." They all then heard a man's voice call out to Simone. The man walked up to the door and noticed who it was.

"If it ain't Steph and H-H-H!" It was Simone's father, Dwayne 'The Rock" Johnson.

"Rocky!" Triple H and Dwayne clasped hands.

"Didn't think you two would ever make it home." Dwayne let go and went to hug Stephanie.

"We're sorry for keeping you." Stephanie said as she broke the hug and the two families walked inside. "We had quite a bit of business to take care of today."

"Everything going alright with that girl April?" Dwayne asked as Triple H, Stephanie, and he sat down in the living room and Simone took the girls upstairs to read them a bedtime story.

"So far so good." Triple H answered. "It isn't her we had to deal with, though. We had an episode with Nicole." Dwayne looked surprised.

"Nikki Bella?"

"Yes." Stephanie chimed in. "We can't say exactly what happened until the press conference but she is doing much better now."

"Good to hear." Dwayne said to the two owners. "Vince was pretty hard on those girls. You know, between the three of us." Triple H nodded in agreement.

"We know." He said. "We've been trying to right by everybody, but he left behind some pretty deep cuts and bruises. It's been hard but we're doing what we thinks is best and everyone's been pretty happy."

"I knew you two'd be able to turn all that mess around." Dwayne said to them. "The last time I came back to wrestle Cena I swore I'd never be back to wrestle with Vince in charge." Stephanie nodded.

"A lot of the formers say that." She said to Dwayne. The man raised his hands.

"I wasn't speaking bad about 'em."

"No no. I understand. Dad was beginning to get too wrapped up in the company. I'm glad he decided to retire and get some much needed rest."

"Right." Dwayne then sat up in his chair. "Have you heard from him lately?" Triple H thought for a moment.

"Actually no." he said. "The last we spoke to him was at Wrestlemania week before the Hall of Fame ceremony. Shane said he tried to call him a week after that but he didn't answer." Dwayne raised his eyebrows.

"Wow." He said. "Vince really is taking a break from everything."

"Whatever he needs to do to get his mind back to normal, I say go for it!" Dwayne laughed at Triple H's comment and stood up.

"Well," Dwayne said as he stretched his arms over his head. "It's getting late and we have a drive to make. Better get going." Stephanie stood up.

"You don't have to leave tonight." She said. "You're more than welcome to stay here. We've plenty of room and I'm sure Simone is already asleep in the girls' room."

"Steph's right." Triple H added. "Plus, it is getting late and you're already looking tired as hell." Dwayne shrugged his shoulders.

"Alright, alright." He said. "We'll stay here tonight."

"Good." Stephanie said. "You can have the guest room. You know where it is."

* * *

Lana and Fedoseev stood behind the conference building making sure they were out of the sight of the many cameras. Lana was shaking her head.

"Father." She said. "Are you sure you don't want to call this off?" Fedoseev pointed at his daughter.

"Aneschka." He said to her. "He broke the contract. No amount of money can buy him out of this. He has no clue of my connections in Russia. He will not help us find the Goddess so we will have to find her ourselves and make that McMahon and everyone tied to that slimy ublyudok pay for his treachery!" Lana grabbed her father's arm with emergence.

"Otets! Please call them off! Do not do this! You could get into really big trouble here if you are caught! Please!" Fedoseev slapped Lana across the face causing her to fall to the ground.

"Our family…" Fedoseev started, angrily eying his fallen daughter. "…does not beg!" Lana held her hand to the area on her face where her father struck her and stood to her feet.

"Forgive me, Father." She said to him. Fedoseev paternally pulled Lana into a seemingly loving embrace.

"Aneschka, moya doch'. All you must do to make me proud…is earn your keep." He looked her in the eyes. "Do what you are meant to do when time comes to do it."


	11. Show Me Your Truth

**A/N: This Chapter is why I altered Chapter 10. Sorry for the lack of action. I have a huge plan for the next chapter! I do hope you enjoy the update, though. Reviews are awesome, and follows make me dance! :P 3**

Brie, Nikki, Dolph, and Sami made it to the supermarket some time ago. Nikki, the only one in the group who one would never see inside a supermarket on a normal day or night, looked around in amazement.

"I forgot how much fun going to the supermarket for myself would be." Nikki said. Sami looked at her.

"We just got here and you're already enjoying it?" he asked. "Nice." Brie looked at her sister.

"Now remember, Nikki." She said to her. "It's easy to get caught up shopping in here, so let's go straight to the dairy section for the ice cream, get it, buy it, and go back to our rooms."

"We're in no rush." Nikki said. "We can look around a bit. Can't we?" Brie rolled her eyes.

"I guess." She said. "Just don't buy anything." Nikki huffed.

"That's no fun." The four found themselves in the section of the store that sold hats. Nikki found a oddly colored beach hat and decided to try it on.

"How's this look?" Nikki asked as she posed in a silly pose. Dolph laughed at how the colors made Nikki stand out.

"That looks ridiculous!" Dolph said through his laughter. Nikki started laughing and then pursed her lips together. Sami began laughing.

"Priceless!" he said. Brie giggled.

"Every time you do that," Brie started. "…you make me think I need more lip gloss." Brie's comment made Nikki laugh again.

"Whatever, Brie!" she said. "Let's go get the ice cream before we forget." As the four made their way to the dairy aisle, a man eyed them with a look of revulsion.

* * *

The group at Randy Orton's place had finished eating and was deciding on what room they would be sleeping in.

"Phil." Randy said. "You can sleep in Alanna's room with April but no fucking in there. Got it?" Paige giggled to herself.

"Got it." Phil said with his face balled up before he walked upstairs to go to bed. Randy nodded then looked at PJ.

"You and Celeste can have the guest room next to mine upstairs." Randy looked at Paige. "Mind sharing the other upstairs guest room with Matt?" Paige shrugged her shoulders.

"Sure." She said. "But if he starts snoring or tries anything funny, I will kick him out of the bed."

"There's two beds in there, chick. You ain't sharing a bed. Just the room." Zack Ryder sighed.

"Good." He said. "I sleep wild. She would have kicked me out the bed for sure."

"Damn skippy!" Paige snapped back. Randy shook his head and looked at John.

"You and Claudio can have the two guest rooms down here." Randy said as he pointed down the hall on his left. "They're right down there." Cesaro nodded.

"Thank you, Randy." Cesaro said to him as he headed for one of the rooms down the hallway.

"I guess we'll go to bed too then." PJ said as his wife stood up.

"Yeah." Celeste agreed. "I'm getting sleepy. Good night, everybody." Everyone wished the couple a good rest.

"I'm going to bed too." Paige said. "You coming, Matt?" Matt nodded and proceeded to follow Paige upstairs. Randy turned to John.

"I'm gonna get some rest too." He said. "It's been a long fucking night. Sleep good, you bastards."

"Good night to you too, Randy." John said as Randy walked upstairs and left him alone downstairs. John turned out the lights, made sure the front and back doors were locked and went to his room.

John plopped down on the soft mattress and began to realize exactly how tired he was. He figured that given the events of the night it was expected. John pulled his shirt off over his head then removed his shoes and placed them near the door. He then went to remove his shorts and noticed he still had his wallet and phone in his pockets. John pulled his phone out of his pocket and noticed he had a lot of text messages. What he noticed that was more important however was a missed call from Nikki Bella. He knew that calling her back would mean he would have to talk to her about his truth and about how he felt about Cesaro, though he was not sure how ready he was to tell her nor did he know how she would take the news. He ultimately chose to return the phone call and decided that then was a better time than later.

* * *

Nikki was handing Brie some chocolate chip cookies they all decided was essential to their ice cream movie when her phone began ringing.

"Who in the world would be calling me this late?" she asked no one in particular as she pulled her phone out of her purse. She looked at the phone with horrid eyes.

"Who is it?" Brie asked. Dolph and Sami stopped walking and looked back after they noticed the Bellas were not following them.

"It's John." Nikki said. Brie sighed and crossed her arms.

"Are you going to answer it?" Nikki nodded.

"I'm gonna go out to the car and take this, okay?" Her three friends nodded as she left.

"Think we should go ahead and buy all this so we can leave?" Sami asked.

"No." Brie answered. "We'll wait. Nikki needs her privacy for this. Besides, she may want something else."

"I guess we can just go look around then." Dolph suggested. Sami then had an idea.

"Maybe I can find that hoodie I saw that one time!" He said. "The one with Captain America on it!" Dolph ran his hands through his bleach blonde dyed hair.

"Dude." He said. "You said you gave up looking for that thing and that you would just order one!"

"That was until I saw the shipping costs, man. Now I'm gonna search until I find it here!"

"We'll be here forever, Rami. Can't you just order it?"

"No! I saw it here and I'll find it here. I know I will." Brie looked at the supermarket doors wondering how Nikki was fairing with her conversation with John.

* * *

Outside, Nikki had been telling John everything that was on her mind and everything that had happened to her that night. By the time she had finished, John was at a loss for words on the other line. Nikki sighed.

"I just really needed to tell you everything that I should've told you before." Nikki said to him. "I am sorry for the way I treated you and acted towards you. I know that is what turned you away from me. I take full responsibility."

"No, Nikki." John said on the other line. "It's not all your fault. I should've paid more attention to you. I just didn't know."

"No one knew, John. I was an unbearable bitch to everyone because I felt entitled to everyone's respect. After all that's been going on, though, I've decided to be a better person. I don't want to have those feelings anymore, and so far I've been happier than I've been in a very long time. I'm on good terms with Brie again, I think I made new friends in Nick and Rami, and I'm able to talk to you about everything. I'm in a good place, John. That's really what I wanted to tell you. I'm better now, and I'm sorry I was a horrible person. I'm not expecting you to take me back or anything. I just wanted to get that off my chest." Nikki heard John sigh. She knew it was a lot to process and she did not expect a quick reply.

"I never thought I'd hear all that come from you, Nicole." John said softly. "It makes me happy that you finally decided to turn your life around." Nikki could have sworn she saw John smiling through the phone. "I hope… what I'm about to say doesn't change that for you." Nikki's expression changed.

"What do you mean?" she asked him.

"I…" John paused for a moment. "I decided to stop being the poster boy the WWE expects me to be all the time and finally be myself. Nicole, I'm gay." Nikki blinked at John's revelation. She almost could not believe what John had just told her. A small part of her, however, knew there was truth in what John told her. Nikki took a deep breath.

"Something told me that you were." Nikki said to John's surprise. "I just wasn't completely sure. I'm happy for you, though. I really am."

"Wow." John said. "I honestly wasn't expecting you to take this so easily."

"Well, part of me does want to castrate you and use those big balls of yours as hood ornaments but I'm not that person anymore. I just want you to be happy."

"I'm on my way there."

"I'm glad to hear that. Really I am." Nikki looked over to the supermarket. "Look, John. I have to go. Brie is waiting for me. But keep in touch. Bye."

* * *

"Bye, Nicole. Have a good night." John hung up the phone and stared at the screen. It still had a photo of him and Nikki as its wallpaper. He pressed a few buttons and changed it to one of the default images on the phone and turned it off before setting it on the nightstand next to him. John then took his shorts off revealing a form fitting pair of light blue boxer briefs. He threw his shorts on the coffee table and went to lay down but then heard a knock on his door.

"Who is it?" John asked as he grabbed his shorts and slipped them back on.

"It's me, John." It was Cesaro. John opened the door.

"What are you doing still up?" John asked. "I thought you were tired."

"I couldn't get to sleep." Cesaro told him. "I kept tossing and turning trying but nothing worked. Then I heard you talking to yourself and wanted to see if you were alright." John nodded.

"Well yeah. I'm fine. I was on the phone with Nicole. I noticed they didn't take my phone when they locked me up and decided to call her." Cesaro blinked.

"Oh." He said simply. "How is she?"

"Surprisingly, she only said she wanted to castrate me after she told me that she was going through hard times and was working on getting her life back together." Cesaro furrowed his brow.

"Really? That doesn't sound much like her at all."

"I know, but she's gone through a lot these past couple of days and she really sounds like she wants to turn her life around this time so I'm glad for her. Nicole really is a good person and isn't the bitch she made herself out to be. I'm happy she decided to let everyone see that." Cesaro smiled briefly.

"Well, I'm glad Nicole is doing alright." Cesaro said as he turned to head out of the room. "I'll go back to bed. I just wanted to make sure you were alright." John looked up at the man.

"You…" John started hesitantly. "…Don't have to go." Cesaro turned around to face John.

"We both need to rest." Cesaro said. "Who knows what the sun will shine on for us when it rises hours from now."

"Well yeah." John shrugged. "You could sleep in here with me if you want." Cesaro blinked at John's offer.

"You want me to sleep in here with you?" Cesaro asked absent-mindedly.

"You don't have to, but maybe being in the other room by yourself has you on edge. It might do you good to have someone else with you." Cesaro rubbed his head.

"I guess you're right. I don't see what harm it could do. I'll take the larger bed over here."

"Alright." As Cesaro walked into the room, John was able to see what he was wearing. He noticed Cesaro had changed out of the torn black turtleneck and dark blue jeans into a large white t-shirt and red pajama pants with Teen Titans emblems scaling down the legs. John discreetly paid extra attention to the red pants and how they fit Cesaro. "What the hell are you wearing, Claudio?"

"Just something I found in one of the drawers in the other room." Cesaro told him. "I know none of it fits me, but I didn't feel comfortable in bed wearing what I had on." John laughed.

"I'm just not used to seeing you dressed like that. You're always dressed, well, kind of business casual." Cesaro shrugged.

"I just like dressing in what I know I look good in." John nodded.

"I understand that completely." John then removed his shorts again and threw them back on the table..

"You don't mind me sleeping in my underwear do you?" John asked. He saw the man lift his head up.

"Not at all." Cesaro said before laughing. "I could never sleep around in my underwear, though." John then got curious.

"Why not?"

"Well, I don't feel comfortable doing so."

"Why, though? It's just me in here, and you'll be in bed. Hell, if you wanna sleep naked it won't make a difference to me, Claudio." Cesaro sat up and noticed John staring up at the ceiling.

"Wouldn't that make you uncomfortable?" Cesaro asked. John sat up to face him.

"Not a bit." He answered. "I sleep naked all the time. That's usually why I request that no one bunk with me while we're on the road. If I have my own room then I can do what I want in it." Cesaro raised his eyebrows as he worked to fend off thoughts of John Cena walking around his room nude.

"I see." Was all Cesaro could say.

"Yeah, so whatever you need to do to get comfortable enough to get some sleep, I say go for it. I won't think any different of you." John then stood up out of the bed. "I'll get naked with you." Cesaro's eyes widened and his face reddened.

"What?" he nearly yelped. "You don't have to do that! I plan on keeping my clothes on."

"Come on, Italian Stallion! Get yourself comfortable!" Cesaro was taken aback by John's outburst.

"I'm not from Italy, John." Cesaro pointed out. "I was born in Switzerland. I'm merely of Italian descent." John looked at Cesaro with surprise.

"Really? I thought it was a part of your gimmick." John sat back down on the bed. "I'm curious, though. Why are you so reserved? It's almost like you're afraid to enjoy yourself most times." John then stood up and walked over to the bed Cesaro was laying in to sit down next to him, much to the abuse of Cesaro's nerves. "You're actually a fun and pretty hilarious guy when you let go of whatever it is that has you like this. What's it about?"

John's question hit Cesaro hard. It was usually a topic he tried avert attention away from as it meant him discussing his family. However, with John and his headstrong personality, Cesaro knew John would accept nothing short of the truth in detail. On top of that, staring into John's crystal blue eyes while he sat inches away from Cesaro in nothing but his underwear was causing his heartbeat to speed up. He mustered up the nerve to answer John's question.

"I am an only child." Cesaro started. "My parents wanted me to be intelligent and successful. I went to school all day and when I got home I would do nothing but study until bed. The only time I got to watch television was during the summer when I visited my grandparents for two weeks. I would watch wrestling with my grandfather there. When I got old enough I decided I was going to be wrestler and trained hard to become what I am now." John raised his eyebrows.

"I get it now." John said. "You really didn't have much of a childhood. Did you?" Cesaro took a deep breath.

"To sum it all up, no. I started learning about enjoying life when I started wrestling. Even now I learn things about myself I never knew I had in me." Cesaro's exposition sent a slight chill through John's body. He then got another idea. He stood back to his feet, causing Cesaro to look up at him.

"Stand up, Claudio." John politely demanded. Cesaro reluctantly got up out of his bed. "Come here." Cesaro began to feel his breath shorten as he walked up to John until they were face to face. "Take your shirt off."

"John." Cesaro said as his face began to flush red. "I don't think-" John raised his hand.

"I'm not asking you to think." John retorted. "You've been thinking your whole life. Just… take off the shirt, Claudio." Cesaro's breath had shortened past the point of recognition. John put his hands on the man's shoulders. "I could take your shirt off for you if you want." Cesaro's face was a shade of red that nearly made his face unrecognizable. He then felt John's hands leave his shoulders, lower to the ends of his shirt, and lift the shirt up. Cesaro instinctively lifted his arms so the shirt could be taken off. John threw the shirt on the floor and looked at Cesaro.

"How do you feel right now?" John asked him. Cesaro was on the verge of trembling from the pressure he felt inside of him.

"I… can't tell you how I feel right now." He replied as he tried to lower his heart rate. "I don't have the words for it." John smiled softly.

"I'm trying to teach you how to be comfortable in your skin, Claudio. I think that's your problem. You never had a childhood so you never got to learn how to do that. When you're comfortable, you can wear anything or nothing at all and still feel at home." Cesaro took a few deep breaths and suddenly the trembling stopped and he felt himself begin to relax.

"I think I'm beginning to see why you enjoy this." Cesaro said. John snickered.

"You aren't done yet, Claudio." He said. "I need you to take your pants off too."

"I beg your pardon?" John looked into Cesaro's garnet colored eyes.

"Take your pants off." John grabbed the waistband of Cesaro's pants. "I could take those off for you too." Cesaro immediately placed his hands over John's.

"No, no." Cesaro said as he held on to John's hands to keep them from mistakenly touching his sides. "I'll…do that myself." Cesaro lifted his hands so John could move his own. Cesaro then proceeded to slowly remove his pants. Underneath them, John saw a pair of coal black briefs with contrasting red stitching that hugged Cesaro's hips with a vice grip. He looked up at Cesaro and noticed he was looking up at the ceiling.

"How do you feel now?" John asked.

"I feel a little embarrassed." Cesaro told him.

"What's the matter? This is basically what you wear when you're in the ring. The only things that are missing are your boots and those wraps around your thighs." Cesaro would not look down at John and it began to worry him. "Claudio." Cesaro shook his head.

"John, I know I'm practically nude when I wrestle, but out there I'm Cesaro. I'm a silent wrestling mastermind who has to condone his partner emotionally abusing his wife. Cesaro has no problem walking out there exposing his body to the world because he knows it makes his job easier to do." Cesaro took another deep breath. "Standing right here, right now…I'm Claudio Castagnoli. I am standing in front of you, John Cena, in nothing but my underwear." The man shut his eyes violently. "And if I may be completely honest, my pulse is racing, my heart is pumping, my blood is on fire, and I'm terrified of what you think of me."

All John could do was look down as he realized that Cesaro's soft spoken demeanor was seeded far deeper than he thought. His intent was to get the man to be comfortable with himself but he found out that Cesaro was also unhappy with what was inside of him. I was not sure about Cesaro would react, but John could not think of any other way to console him. John swallowed hard as he knew his future comment would either make or break him.

"I think you're beautiful, Claudio." John said, making Cesaro stop breathing. Cesaro looked back down from the ceiling and into John's eyes with a look on his face that John could not figure out. Cesaro took a quick panicked breath.

"You…" Cesaro started. "…You think I'm… beautiful? Why would say that?"

"Because…" John hesitated to answer the man, but gathered the courage seemingly inherent to him. "Because it's true, Claudio. I think you're a beautiful man. I caught you when I watched a Ring of Honor show on television once and spotted you ever since. I was a fan of your work, Claudio, and then I heard you'd be coming to the WWE. You debuted and I watched. You wrestled and I watched. After while I wasn't just a fan of your work…" John took a deep breath. "I was a fan of your voice. I was a fan of your attire. I was a fan of your eyes. I was a fan of your lips. Everything that was Antonio Cesaro…everything that was Claudio, I was a fan." John stepped in closer, no longer fearing the consequences for invading Cesaro's personal space. "And truthfully, I still am a big fan." Cesaro was in a state of disbelief. The air in the room could be cut with a blunt knife, and it did not aid the situation that John so close to him.

"I didn't know you felt that way about me." Cesaro said, still in shock. John backed up to give Cesaro his space.

"I didn't say anything to you because I wasn't sure how you'd feel." John explained. "I wasn't even sure if that was really what I was feeling. I felt it was true after everything that happened last night, and now after seeing you…I know for a fact what I'm feeling's real." Cesaro looked down to the floor.

"John." He started. "I really don't know what to say." John nodded in defeat.

"You don't have to say anything, Claudio." John said before walking back to his bed. "I just wish you were as big a fan of yourself as I am of yours." John got in the bed and turned on his side. "Good night, Claudio. You can put your clothes back on if you want to." Cesaro stared at John as he drifted off to sleep before looking back down at his crumpled clothes at his feet.

"He thinks…" he began thinking to himself. "..that I'm beautiful. John Cena, the face of the WWE, thinks that I'm beautiful." Cesaro smiled to himself as John's words resonated in his mind. He then looked over at John laying on top of the bed covers asleep. Deciding to leave his clothes on the floor and remain in his underwear, he walked over to John's bed and laid down as quietly as he could to keep from waking the other man. Cesaro felt at peace as he began feeling comfortable in less than he was used to wearing, physically and emotionally. He grabbed one of the pillows, slid a bit closer to John, and laid his head as close to him as the pillow allowed. Cesaro almost immediately drifted to sleep but John felt someone in the bed with him as he had not fallen asleep just yet. He turned his head slowly to look over his shoulder and noticed it was Cesaro snoring lightly. John smiled to himself and gently pulled Cesaro's arm around his own waist before closing his eyes and truly falling to sleep.

Phil had long ago fallen asleep after making his way into the bed with AJ. AJ, however, was still awake after being awakened by Phil indiscreetly getting into bed with her. Suddenly, she felt a warm sense of happiness flow over her. The presence itself was greatly familiar to her and she smiled into her pillow as she instantly knew what it was.

"Finally." AJ said to herself. "It's about time."


	12. Home Is Where the Snake Hides

**A/N: No long Author's Note this time. I just hope this chapter was worth the wait. Enjoy. :D**

The morning came and Stephanie had awakened early to see the girls off to school. She hugged all three of them as they stepped on the school bus and waved as they rode off down the road. Stephanie watched as the bus disappeared from view and then went to go back inside. She walked in to hear Triple H in the kitchen on the phone.

"We'll talk about it at the meeting." Stephanie heard him say. "…Alright. See you then." Triple H ended the conversation and Stephanie looked at him with concern.

"Good morning, Paul." Stephanie greeted before kissing him. "Who was that on the phone?"

"It was Orton." Triple H replied. "He called me and said that he had something important to talk about regarding AJ and last night."

"What happened last night?" Triple H grabbed his cup of coffee.

"He didn't say. I told him we'd have a meeting with her, him, and us so we can hash out whatever is going on." Stephanie began to think.

"Do we have any free time for that, Paul?" she asked her husband.

"Plenty." He answered. "Our card is empty until Smackdown tonight. I was actually going to surprise you with lunch today." Stephanie smiled.

"Oh you were?" Stephanie asked playfully. "And where were you going to take me?"

"That place on Fifth that you like so much."

"Well, let's make sure we get the meeting over with in time for lunch then." Triple H kissed Stephanie.

"Consider it done." He said as he looked upstairs. "Is Dwayne up yet?"

"It's still a bit early, Paul." Stephanie said. "Simone is out of school for two weeks so she doesn't have to get up. They are probably still asleep." Triple H nodded.

"I told Randy we would meet them at Nine-Thirty. We'll have to wake Dwayne up to let him know we'll be stepping out." Stephanie placed her hand on her husband's massive chest.

"You finish your coffee." She said to him. "I'll go let him know we'll be leaving soon."

"Thanks Steph."

* * *

Brie was the first one of the four to wake up. Nikki and she had slept in the bed in their hotel room, Dolph slept in the lounge chair near the television, and Sami slept on the floor wrapped in what seemed like an endless supply of blankets. Brie slowly got up out of the bed so she did not wake Nikki and walked out onto the balcony to face the sunrise. To see the sun rising over the plethora of buildings was always Brie's favorite part of the morning and she watched it no matter where she was. Brie was broken out of her trance by another presence.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" It was Dolph. Brie looked over at him.

"It is." She said to him. "I watch the sunrise every morning. It doesn't matter where I am."

"I do, too. I think it's cool that we can create beauty and all, but it doesn't even come close to the beauty Mother Nature makes for us." Brie smiled.

"Right. When I finally have time, I want to walk through a rain forest just to see all the exotic trees and plant life." Dolph then smiled and looked over at Brie.

"That sounds like a great idea." He said. "Mind if I tag along?"

"To the rain forest?"

"Yeah. I think it would be awesome. I've never been hiking much less hiking through rain forests." Brie was nearly beaming.

"Well, when I figure out when I can go I'll let you know so you can come too. How's that?"

"Sounds good to me. Can't wait." Brie looked at Dolph in awe.

"I can't believe you really want to go with me to the rain forest. Every time I mention it to someone they look at me like I'm crazy."

"Not me. I think it's pretty awesome that you want to do something like that. Get out and dirty and enjoy what the world has to offer."

Dolph and Brie stared at the ephemeral sunrise as it slowly lit up the sky with bountiful colors. Dolph glanced over at Brie. She seemed to be mesmerized by the colors that filled the sky as the sun woke up on the horizon, and the sun appeared to give a glow to Brie's figure. As the wind gently danced through her hair, Dolph saw Brianna Danielson as a majestic deity that bade light to the world. He truly could do nothing but gaze at the woman. He then tore his mind from her.

"So Brie." Dolph said. "What do you think about Rami?" Brie looked over at him.

"I think he is cute actually." Brie said. "Nikki really likes him from what I could tell."

"You think they would actually go on a date together?" Brie thought for a moment.

"Wow." She said. "I don't know, honestly. I don't see why Rami and Nikki wouldn't hit it off." Dolph nodded.

"Well, Rami told me he was thinking about telling Nikki he liked her."

"I'm not sure how she's going to react to that. I mean, she's been through a lot last night and she's just starting to get back on her feet."

"I was thinking the same thing." Dolph leaned on the railing of the balcony. "I don't want either of them to get hurt because it was brought on too soon. I told him to wait a bit." Brie nodded.

"Yeah." She agreed. "I think that would definitely be best." Dolph nodded.

"Yeah. They do like each other. I think it would work out." Brie smiled.

"Me too." Brie stretched her arms over her head. "Well, I'm gonna go back in and get myself ready for the day. Are you on Smackdown tonight?" Dolph shook his head.

"Nah." He said. "I'm not scheduled. Rami is though."

"Well you'd better wake him up so he can work out and get ready for tonight." Brie walked back inside. Dolph watched her as she walked back into the room to wake Sami up. Dolph smiled gently.

* * *

"Thank you both." Summer Rae said to Tyson Kidd and his wife Natalya. "I really appreciate you letting stay here." Natalya hugged Summer.

"You're more than welcome to stay here longer." Natalya said.

"Yeah." Tyson chimed in. "We aren't working today so we get to relax a bit." Summer shook her head as a taxi pulled up to the home.

"Thank you," she said. "But I don't want to intrude. Plus, I have all my stuff at my hotel room." Natalya looked genuinely disappointed.

"Alright then." She said to Summer. "If you need anything don't hesitate to call us."

"Thank you, Nattie." Summer said. "Thank you, TJ. I'll see you both later." Natalya and Tyson waved at Summer as she got into the taxi and rode off. Tyson and Natalya look at each other.

"You think she's gonna be alright today?" Tyson asked.

"I'll keep an eye on her." Natalya answered. Her husband nodded and began to ponder.

"What are we going to do today?" he asked.

"I don't know. Trinity's not working today either. We can see if she and Jon want to do something." Tyson shrugged his shoulders.

"Sounds good to me." He said. Natalya smiled.

"I'll call her later on. I know they're not awake yet."

* * *

The group at Randy's house had awakened. AJ, whom Phil could not wake up, was the only one of them still sleeping. Phil walked down the stairs alone to see everyone sitting in the living room.

"Where's April?" John asked him. Phil pointed upstairs.

"I'm letting her sleep some more." Phil answered. Celeste snickered.

"Also known as… You can't wake her up." She said before standing up. "I'll go get her. She, John, Claudio, Randy, and Zack are all going to go see Paul and Stephanie in a couple of hours." Phil furrowed his brow.

"For what?" Phil asked. "To explain that my wife is a living Jean Grey? Yeah, that'll blow over smooth."

"This is serious shit, Phil!" Paige harped. "Vince drugged AJ against her will! We're talking violation of rights, jail time, and all that pizzazz! Paul and Steph have every right to know what's going on, especially since it was Stephanie's dad who did this to her."

"She's right, man." Randy added.

"I'm not disagreeing." Phil said in defense. "I'm saying that if it sounded crazy to all of us then trying to convince those two is going to take a fucking miracle!" John raised his hands.

"The 'miracle' is upstairs." He said. "She is going to have to show them what she can do." Phil shook his head.

"I don't know." He said. "We don't know what using her powers is doing to her. What if she ends up having a Dark Phoenix heel turn on us?" PJ blinked.

"He has a point." PJ agreed. "We really don't know how all this is affecting April. All we know is what she told us the scientist told her. We just know she is getting stronger. I don't even think she knows what using her powers could be doing to her."

"That's more than enough reason for Paul and Stephanie to hear about all this." Paige explained. "We could get her some help and lock Vince under the fucking Thames River with the fishes for what he did to her!"

"Then it's settled." John said. "We go to this meeting and tell them everything. If they ask about April's abilities then she'll have to show them what she's got."

"I can do that." Everyone turned to the stairs to see AJ standing at the last step.

"You're awake." Phil said with a gentle smile. AJ raised her eyebrows.

"I am now." She then looked to Randy Orton. "Are you ready to go?" she asked him. Randy blinked before answering her question.

"Well yeah." He said. "We're ready when you are. Everyone else is going back to their rooms." AJ nodded.

"I know. Let's go. I'd like to get there early." Phil walked over to AJ but before he could say anything AJ said in a monotonic voice, "No, Phil. I don't need you to come. You stay here. We can't go back to our room yet." Phil blinked at her.

"Our stuff's in there." He said. "We're gonna have to get our stuff and, you know, bathe eventually."

"If you're stayin' here," Randy said. "…then I got soap and stuff. Just use that unless you have some fancy soap you like to use." Phil shook his head.

"Nah. Any soap will do. I just want to wash my ass."

"Then go wash your funky ass, man! We'll be back." Everyone headed for the door and Phil walked them all out.

"You're going to be alright by yourself?" Celeste asked. Phil looked at her.

"I'm not twelve." He said. "I'll be fine."

"I'm just saying. You know how you get when April's gone."

"It's whatever. I'll be fine." Randy then turned back to him.

"Help yourself to whatever's in the fridge." Randy said to him. "If Sam calls then tell her I'll call her when I get home."

"Who's Sam?" Phil asked.

"Alanna's mother." Randy answered. Phil nodded.

"You got it." Everyone waved at Phil as they began to leave. Suddenly he felt a familiar warmth wrap around him. He took a deep breath and then heard AJ's voice in his head.

"Don't worry, babe." She said to him. "I'll be back soon." It took him a few moments to realize that the warmth he felt was AJ hugging him from afar. He looked at her as they drove off and sure enough she was looking at him with a smile on her face. Phil tried to fix his face to smile but to no avail and chose to wave instead. Once the vehicles were out of sight, Phil shook his head.

"What the fuck, man…?"

* * *

Triple H and Stephanie sat down in their office to wait for John Cena and friends to arrive and talk to them minutes before. The two owners waited patiently until they heard the door open and saw John, Cesaro, Randy, Zack, and AJ walk into the office. Triple H stood up to greet all of them.

"Good morning." He said as he shook everyone's hand before they sat down. "I didn't think all of you would be coming."

"What I'm about to tell you involves all of us." AJ spoke up. Stephanie raised her eyebrows.

"Alright." She said. "Well, let's hear it. What is so urgent that we needed to meet here this morning?" Stephanie heard the men sigh heavily as AJ walked around to the front of the table.

"I'm going to give you the shorter version of the story." AJ started. "Me, Randy, John, and Claudio were kidnapped." Triple H and Stephanie looked at her with skeptical eyes.

"Kidnapped?" Triple H asked sarcastically. AJ returned the sarcasm with a simple nod.

"Kidnapped…by Vince McMahon." Stephanie furrowed her brow.

"Excuse me?" she said with a slightly irritated tone. AJ's facial expression faded to an emotionless stare as she looked at her female boss.

"Your father," she started as she narrowed her eyes. "The great and powerful Vincent Kennedy McMahon along with Shawn Michaels and Lana kidnapped Claudio, locked John and Randy up in a jail cell, and had me tied to a medical table in some lab in his conference building! He and some Russian scientist to make an experimental steroid alternative and injected it in me some time during when I was in the hospital. I've been having side effects from it and that's what's been messing with me lately. We broke out of the conference building here last night." Stephanie's facial expression did not show concern. It showed anger. AJ noticed the change in her face. "Is there a problem with anything I'm saying, Stephanie?" Stephanie stood up.

"Is this some kind of prank you're all trying to pull?" She asked. "If so, then it isn't funny in the least." Zack spoke up.

"It's no joke, Stephanie." He said to her. "April's telling the truth." Triple H turned to him.

"No offense, Matt," Triple H started. "…But that's bullshit." AJ looked at the man. "You're sitting in this office, telling us that my Wife's father –my father-in-law- hired a Russian scientist to make some fake steroid, shot April up with it, and kidnapped the four of you why?" AJ blinked.

"Paul." Triple H stopped AJ before she could speak more.

"Okay. Let's just bypass all this and get to whatever this meeting is really about." Randy stood up to get Triple H and Stephanie's attention.

"Now, hold on a minute." Randy said. "We don't give you any problems, we don't come to your office questioning you every chance about stuff that can be handled without you, we don't complain, we don't talk bad about you guys to the press, and we damned sure don't have a reason to lie to you!"

"Randy." Stephanie said as calm as she could. "Please sit down."

"Stephanie. You need to talk to your old man! He's losing his mind!" Stephanie gave Randy a look of disdain.

"Who do you think you are?" she harped as she pointed at the taller man, her voice becoming raspy as the McMahon bloodline is famous for. "You have no right to talk about my father when he's done everything in his power to build this company and give you and your family a job and a legacy to be proud of!" Triple H tried to console his wife as he knew that Randy had touched a nerve in her.

"Steph." Triple H said lovingly only to have Stephanie pull away.

"No Paul." John spoke up. "We aren't lying about this." Triple H shook his head.

"You're in on this too, Cena?" Triple H asked. "I don't believe it. You're really pushing for a Hall of Fame induction next year. Aren't you?" John took offense to the comment and stood up.

"Are you threatening my job, Paul?" John asked angrily.

"Are you calling my father-in-law a lunatic kidnapper?" AJ had truly had enough. She slammed her fist onto the desk as hard as she could. The impact sounded off with a loud boom and the force of the impact caused the table to nearly snap in half. Everyone looked at the aftermath in shock before looking at AJ. The petite woman looked at her owners before speaking.

"Paul. Stephanie. Listen to me very carefully." Just then, the seats that Triple H and Stephanie were sitting in slid underneath them screeching as they slid across the floor. The seats hit the legs of the two owners causing them to involuntarily sit in them. "Whatever it was that Vince had me injected with is causing my mind to strengthen and break through the bonds of what we know as reality. What you just saw is only a fraction of what I can do all thanks to this drug that was forced in me without my consent. He kidnapped me and tied me to a lab table to examine how the drug is working with my body and that's when I was told that my mind is getting stronger every day. Every day I'll become more of a "goddess" as I was called and less of who I was before all this. You're thinking this is something that I concocted to tell you so that we could all get time off and go on a vacation to Dubai. I'm telling you that you are going to be in for the rudest awakening of your lives if you continue to deny this." AJ sat back down in her seat. "Not only did Vince violate my rights as a human being, he sacrificed my well-being and endangered the lives of my friends. I'm slowly losing myself because of your father and you're more concerned with slandering his name. You can do no more damage than he's done to himself. Now you can either listen to me and follow up on this before Vince starts looking for all of us, or you can ignore me and I can take this to the proper officials myself." Stephanie's breath had quickened. She could not believe what she saw and heard. Both Triple H and she gathered their composure.

"We will…" Stephanie struggled to gather her words. "…contact my father so that we can all discuss this and-" AJ stopped Stephanie.

"Don't bother with that." She said. "He'll probably be trying to clear his name off of this because he knows it's only a matter of time before he's confronted with it. I'll be shocked if you're even able to reach him now." Stephanie sat down with her hand over mouth in disbelief.

"Okay." Triple H started after swallowing hard. "I'm not gonna say I'm completely convinced, but let's say you're telling the truth about this. What is locking Vince up gonna do for you?"

"I don't care about what happens to him." AJ said in a monotonic tone that was slowly becoming normal for her. "His fate is sealed. You should be more concerned with yourselves."

"Why?" Triple H asked her.

"Vince is not going to want to take blame for this. He is going to try and pin it on someone else." Stephanie thought for a moment as she tried once again to regain her composure.

"What exactly are you saying, April?" Stephanie asked. AJ looked at the woman.

"I'm saying exactly what you're thinking I'm saying." AJ then looked at Triple H. "Vince has been secretly funding this drug's creation for years with this company's funds, which explains why nearly half the employees had to be let go. Vince gave the WWE to you two, meaning everything now belongs to you. This includes the financial dealings."

"That doesn't apply to the historical records." Triple H told her. "Whatever Vince used is still on Vince's books. Not ours." It was then that what AJ referenced came to Stephanie's mind.

"Dad's gonna try to pin it on us, Paul." Stephanie said in order to shed light on her worries. Triple H stopped and began to panic.

"Shit!" AJ looked at him.

"Find Vince and get him to confess to this." She told the two owners. They looked at her.

"What are you all going to do?" Triple H asked. "He's gonna come looking for you because of what you know."

"He doesn't know I know all that." AJ told him. "But, he is going to send people to take me down to keep me quiet, and I'll be ready to do what I need to do to protect my family and my friends. Your concern is getting Vince to confess and to keep your names clean so that the WWE is not ruined by this. We'll " With that, AJ stood up and walked out of the office with her four friends following her. Triple H and Stephanie looked at each other and looked at the broken table. Triple H then pulled his phone out and dialed Vince's number. Miraculously, he picked up the phone after the first ring.

"Paul!" Vince said enthusiastically. "Good to hear from you!" Triple H looked at Stephanie with a baffled look in his eyes. "How are things going with the company?"

"Everything's fine, Vince." Triple H said to Vince. "We need to talk. It's about AJ." Triple H heard silence on the other end of the line. "Vince?"

"Sorry Paul." Vince said. "I had to handle another call. Let's discuss this over lunch tomorrow."

"This really can't wait until tomorrow, Vince. We need to talk about it today."

"I don't have time today. We'll meet tomorrow. I'll send for you and we will talk about whatever AJ has going on. I have to go." Triple H heard Vince hang the phone up before immediately hearing a dial tone afterwards.

"Vince? Vince!" Triple H cursed to himself as Stephanie eyed him with concern.

"Tell me he didn't hang up on you." She demanded. Triple H looked at her.

"He hung up on me." Stephanie covered her forehead with her hand and looked down to her feet. "Steph. That doesn't mean anything. He's a workaholic. He probably started another business or something."

"Paul." Stephanie started. "I know my father. He's hiding something." The woman looked at the closed door. "What if AJ's right? What are we gonna do?"

"Let's not jump the gun here." Triple H said as he placed his hands on his wife's shoulders. "Let's just hear what he has to say tomorrow and go from there." Stephanie looked into her husband's eyes. "Come on. Let's get out of here so we can try and enjoy the rest of our day off. We'll get someone to clean this mess up."

Vince hung the phone up and took a deep breath. Before he gather his thoughts more, his phone rung again. He looked and noticed that it was Fedoseev. He answered.

"What do you want, Sergei?" Vince asked.

"You are going to pay for your betrayal, McMahon." Fedoseev said. "And the price is more than your money can pay." Fedoseev hung up the phone before Vince could speak, leaving him trying to figure out what the Russian man meant. Just then, one of his henchmen walked into his office.

"Sir." He said. "We've disposed of the body and hidden the trail."

"Good job." Vince said plainly. "Continue with your prior duties." The man nodded and walked back out of the office. Vince went back to thinking about what Fedoseev's comment meant and decided to call him and ask. He dialed the number but received a message.

"We're sorry. The number you have dialed has either been changed, disconnected, or is no longer in service. If you feel you've reached this number in error, please hang up and try your call again." Vince's heart began racing and he started getting nervous. He pressed the button on his desk for the intercom.

"Get me some escorts up here!" he shouted. "I've had enough of this place."

* * *

"I went ahead and sent for your things." Paige told Phil over the phone. "They'll be with me when you come back to the hotel."

"Thanks, Saraya." Phil said as he walked out of the kitchen with a glass of Pepsi. "We'll be there as soon as AJ and everyone comes back."

"I wonder how that meeting went."

"There's no telling. I know that we are going to be end for one hell of a time when all this stuff starts coming out to the public."

"Oooh, that's right. The media is going to have a field day with all this."

"Tell me about it."

"Well, Phil. I gotta go. The hotel staff is calling about your stuff most likely so I have to try and explain everything to them."

"Alright. Call me when you're done. I'll probably still be here."

"I'll call you and if you don't answer I'll twist your nipples when you get here!"

"Looking forward to it."

"I knew you were a freak. April's got a handful in you." Phil snickered.

"How do you know it's not the other way around?"

"Because she is a good girl. I heard you love having your butt rubbed, though."

"I told Lesnar that in confidence!" Paige fell into a fit of laughter.

"Dammit!" Phil heard her shout through her laughter. "I can't with you, Phil! I just can't. Bye!" Paige hung up the phone and Phil looked at his before setting it on the coffee table along with his glass of soda. He sat down and began contemplating on whether or not to call his wife and see how everything went. He ultimately decided to call her. Phil picked up his phone and dialed her number. As it rung on the line, however, he heard her ringer coming from upstairs. A blank look fell on his face and ignorantly pressed the button to end the call.

"Of course you'd leave your phone here." Phil said to himself. He sipped on the Pepsi as an attempt to keep from worrying about his wife, but to avail. He sat the glass back down and walked to go outside in Randy's backyard. He sat in the pool chair closest to the edge of the pool so he could see the ocean over the balcony. The faint sound of the waves in the distance helped calm his mind. They did not calm the worry for AJ, however.

"April." Phil said quietly. "I don't want to lose you. I don't know what I'd do."

* * *

During the ride back to Randy's home, AJ felt a sudden melancholy chill fall over her body like a tidal wave. Cesaro noticed the change in her demeanor.

"April." Cesaro called out. "Are you alright?" AJ waited a moment before answering him.

"I think so." AJ said. "I just felt a little chill. I'll be fine."

"You sure?" John asked. "You look a bit pale."

"Well, I haven't been tanning, so yeah. There's that." Randy laughed.

"Burn." He said. John rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah." AJ looked out of the car window and gazed at the passing scenery.

* * *

Several hours had passed and the sun had started to set. The Levesque family, Dwayne, and his daughter had finished dinner and Simone took the girls upstairs so that they could brush their teeth and get ready for bed. Dwayne looked at Triple H.

"Thanks for letting us stay the week." He said. "Simone really enjoys being with the girls."

"You're always welcome here, Dwayne." Triple H said. "You know that."

"Stay as long as you want." Stephanie added. Dwayne smiled then raised his eyebrows.

"Oh!" he yelped. "How did the meeting go?" Triple H and Stephanie looked at each other.

"Well," Triple H started. "I really don't know what to tell you."

"Is it that serious?" Stephanie nodded.

"If what was told to us is true…" Stephanie said. "…then it could mean the disintegration of the McMahon family." Dwayne shook his head.

"Break up the McMahons? What the hell happened?"

"We were told that Vince sponsored an illegal experimental steroid substitute using WWE money and he used that drug on one of the wrestlers without their consent. Now they're having… side effects, for lack of a better term." Dwayne's eyes widened.

"What?" He nearly shouted. "Hold on, let me sit down for this shit here." He walked over to one of the lounge chairs and sat in it. "Now, you're telling me that Vince McMahon hired some dumbass to make a science project juice and shot one of the guys up with it without them saying they'd be willing to do it and without knowing what the shit would do to that guy?" Triple H shook his head.

"It wasn't a Superstar." He said. "It was a Diva. It was AJ." Dwayne threw his hands in the air.

"Whoa! He doped up AJ? You've gotta be kidding me!"

"We don't know that for certain." Stephanie started. "With everything she told us, though, a lot of evidence points to that. She also said he kidnapped John Cena, Randy Orton, and Claudio Castagnoli because they were talking with her." Dwayne buried his face in his hands and sighed.

"I don't believe this." He said. "That sounds borderline psychotic. That doesn't even sound like the Vince McMahon I worked with."

"We're having a meeting with him tomorrow." Triple H explained. "We wanted to talk to him face-to-face and that's the earliest he's available he said."

"You talked to him? Did he sound worried or anything?" Triple H shook his head.

"Nothing I could point out over the phone." Dwayne did not know what to think.

"I'm thrown. What the hell has gotten into Vince, Paul?" Stephanie sat down in the love seat next to the chair Dwayne was sitting in.

"We don't know he did this for sure." Stephanie told him. He looked at her.

"You don't know he didn't either." Dwayne replied. "You're right. That is serious." Stephanie nodded.

"What's worse…" she added. "…is that April thinks he will try to pin it on us and make it look like we sponsored that drug since it was the company's money he used." Dwayne blinked.

"You gotta be kidding me." He said.

"April's imaginative without a doubt." Triple H started. "I don't think she would imagine this up, though. There's too much to lose for her to lie like this."

"What are you gonna do?" Stephanie sighed.

"We need to get Vince to tell us his side of this story before we can take any action." Stephanie answered. "Right now, with what's at stake we can't put anything past neither of the people involved. We'll grill Dad at tomorrow's meeting and if it doesn't check out with what April told us then we have no choice but to call the authorities about this." Dwayne was in shock.

"Holy shit." Dwayne said. "You were right about it breaking up the family. This will definitely do it if it's true." Dwayne looked down at the floor briefly before looking up to them again. "If you need me to take the girls then I'll be more than happy."

"Thanks, Dwayne." Triple H said. "We don't know how long all of this is going to take, however, and we know your schedule isn't always cut out like it is this week. We're gonna take them to Shane's home tomorrow before the meeting." Dwayne nodded.

"Gotcha." He said, still in disbelief.

"I think the best thing we can do tonight is just sleep on this." Stephanie said. "We'll need a clear mind when we go into the meeting."

It was that moment when a shot was heard from outside the Levesque home. Then, the window near Triple H shattered as another bullet flew through it and hit him in the right arm. He fell to the floor gripping his wounded arm.

"Paul!" Stephanie shouted. Dwayne yanked her down to the floor.

"Get down!" he yelled at her as more shots fired off and broke more of the home's many windows. "Stay down here! I'm going to get the girls!" Dwayne quickly stood up and ran for the stairs as bullets flew through the home. Triple H slid to the bookcase and removed a pistol from underneath it. Stephanie screamed to the top of her lungs.

Upstairs, Dwayne kicked down the door to the girls' room and immediately heard them scream.

"It's alright, girls!" Dwayne shouted. "Hurry! Come out and come with me!" The four girls ran out of the closet and ran to Dwayne and he led them out of the room.

"There's a secret place over here!" Aurora yelled as she pointed to the wall. "No one can get us in there!" Dwayne and the girls ran to the wall. Aurora pressed in one of the tiles and the wall opened to reveal a steel staircase.

"Go, go, go!" Dwayne shouted. He then pulled his daughter to him and handed her a small pistol he pulled out of his boot. "Simone! I'm coming back for this, ya hear me? If you need it, you know how to use it." Simone nodded and ran to catch up with the girls before the wall closed back up. Dwayne ran back downstairs and heard silence. He feared the worst as he looked around. He then heard Stephanie faintly call out to him.

"Behind you." He turned around to see Stephanie and Triple H hiding behind one of the beams near the kitchen. Dwayne ran to meet them and noticed Triple H's right arm wrapped with the sleeve of his shirt where it had been wounded.

"Where are the girls?" Triple H asked with worry.

"Aurora led them all down the hidden stairway you guys had built." Dwayne told him. Stephanie smiled.

"That's my girl." She said. Just then, they heard people jump through the windows of the lower section of the house. Triple H looked to Stephanie.

"Steph!" he said. "I want you to go meet the girls in the safe room."

"What about you two?" Stephanie asked.

"We'll catch up! Go!" Stephanie ran for the stairs as quick as she could. Dwayne and Triple H looked at each other.

"Just like old times, huh?" Triple H said jokingly.

"That was fake shit." Dwayne said. "This is real shit. You ready?"

"Let's take my house back!" With that, Dwayne and Triple H leapt from behind the beam to face three black-clad mercenaries invading the Levesque home. They shot at the two men with everything they had but Dwayne and Triple H were prepared. They dove behind the large sofa to diffuse the rain of bullets. Triple H leaned down the side and shot one of the two gunners in the leg and disabled him. Dwayne sat up to shoot the other gunner in the head, killing instantly. Three more men jumped through the window to their right. They began to swing at Triple H but were countered by a bone-shattering left haymaker. The man it hit fell hard. Just then, more men came into the more and began to swarm the area.

Upstairs, Stephanie had just about reached the safe room door when she heard window shatter in the room next to her. She screamed instinctively as the men dove at her with a knife. Stephanie was able to duck underneath him by falling to her stomach. The heels she wore made it difficult for her to stand while the attacker regained his footing, so she removed them and stood to her feet. The man swung the knife but Stephanie, being an adept boxer, was able to see the attack coming and ducked under it before connecting with a right hook to his body. The blow caused him to hunch over in pain and Stephanie swung again with her left fist, connecting with his temple and killing him. Another man leapt through the same window and charged at her, but Stephanie was quick enough to grab one of her shoes and jam the heel into the man's eye with enough force to pierce through the eyeball and hit his brain. He dropped to the floor, a large blood stain marking the carpet. She quickly pressed the tile that opened the door, ran inside, and closed it behind her.

"Girls! Girls!" Stephanie shouted. "It's me!"

"What's the password?" she heard Aurora ask her.

"Princess!" As she descended down the metal stairway, she saw the four girls come out of the room and hug her tight.

"Where's my dad?" Simone asked Stephanie.

"Yeah." Murphy shouted. "Where's Daddy?"

"They're gonna catch up with us, girls. I need all of you to grab hands and come with me! We're gonna go to Grandma's house!"

"What's going on?" Aurora asked her mother.

"We don't have time!" Stephanie shouted as she pulled the girls down the metal-walled hallway. "Just come!" Stephanie picked Vaughn up and she and the girls ran down the hallway until they reached a small parking lot with three bullet-proof vehicles parked in it. They all ran for the larger one. Stephanie placed Vaughn in the car seat in the back.

"Aurora!" Stephanie called out. "Lock your sister in! Murphy! Get in there next to Vaughn! Simone! Sit up here with me!" The girls did as they were told and Stephanie started up the vehicle.

In the house, Dwayne and Triple H had taken down nearly all of the men. The remaining six men circled the two men like sharks until one of them charged at Dwayne. Dwayne headbutted the man and knocked him off balance as the other black-clad men charged in. Triple H clotheslined two of them but another managed to punch his wounded arm, sending a jolt of pain through his arm and causing him to pause. Dwayne grabbed the attacker from behind and slammed him to the ground with enough force to crush his spine on impact. Triple H pulled out the pistol he removed from the bookcase and shot the two men he clotheslined in the head. He ran for the door by the kitchen with Dwayne following close behind. He stepped out into the garage and scanned the area for more intruders. When he concluded it was all clear, the two men got into the vehicle closest to them then drove through the garage door and off the premises. Triple H pressed a button on the steering wheel.

"Call Steph." Triple H said. The car understood the request and dialed Stephanie's number. She picked up immediately.

"Paul!" Stephanie answered.

"We're alright."

"Good! We're going to Linda's."

"We'll be there soon." The call ended and Triple H slammed his fist on the dashboard. "Dammit!"

"Whoa, whoa." Dwayne said as he gently grabbed Triple H's arm to keep him from hurting it further. "Chill out. We'll get to the bottom of this."

"This is unbelievable." Triple H said. "This is something I see in theaters. I never thought I'd see this would happen for real, especially not to me and my family."

"It's alright, Paul. Just drive." Dwayne patted Triple H on his shoulder. "We'll get to the bottom of this."

* * *

Fedoseev sat down in a chair in an undisclosed room. He pulled his phone out and dialed a number. The familiar voice of a man answered the phone.

"Fedoseev."

"Has it been done?"

"No." Fedoseev angered quickly.

"What do you mean 'No?' Why have you not?"

"We have not arrived yet. We are still in route."

"Well hurry. I wish for this to be done before this day ends!"

"Yes sir." Fedoseev hung up the phone and turned around to see Lana looking at him.

"Moya doch'." Fedoseev said. "What troubles you?"

"My respect and love for you, Otets, will not allow me to say." Lana said to her father. Fedoseev walked up to her.

"You can tell me anything you wish."

"Then I will say that I do not approve of what you are doing. You are plotting to harm innocent people…kind people."

"And what do you consider what you've done, Aneschka? Your hands are just as dirty as mine."

"I am aware I am in no place to pass judgment which is why I am choosing to remain by your side, father. Just know that I do not believe in what you are doing. Your mission was to create that serum and my mission was to support Vince McMahon. Our missions have been completed yet because you feel betrayed you've gone and contacted the most dangerous group in Russia. I do not agree with this."

"Well, you are still at my side and that is all that matters." Fedoseev cupped Lana's chin in his hand. "I can only hope you remain at my side through all of this so that we may go home to Mother Russia as heroes." Lana shut her eyes and took a deep breath as she mentally calmed her disdain.


	13. Embrace the Geek Goddess

**A/N: My apologies for the wait. Things are beginning to pick up at work and some junk. Hopefully this story's events are progressing quick enough for you all. ** **Enjoy. **

Dwayne and Triple H arrived at Linda McMahon's home about three hours from the time they were attacked in the Levesque house. As soon as Triple H parked he was greeted by Linda's personal assistant, a blonde young girl who appeared to be in her early twenties.

"Miss McMahon is waiting for you." She said.

"Thank you, Amber." Triple H said as he and Dwayne were being led to the home.

"Is the rest of my family here?" Triple H asked Amber.

"Yes. They are all inside waiting for you." As the three walked inside sure enough the four girls were waiting for their fathers. Murphy, Vaughn, and Aurora ran to their father and hugged him as tight as their small arms allowed. Simone ran up to her father and hugged him before bumping fists with him.

"We have to see Grandma now." Triple H said as he looked at his daughters. They all nodded and let him go so that he and Dwayne could go to see Linda. Amber led them further down the massive hallway to the reading chamber where Linda and Stephanie were waiting. Stephanie ran up to Triple H and hugged him. Linda stood from her chair and looked at the bullet wound on his arm.

"Please go and look after the children until Shane arrives, Amber." Linda said to Amber. Amber did as she was told and Linda looked at her son-in-law. "Stephanie told me what happened. I'm sorry about your home."

"As long as my family is safe." Triple H retorted. "All the other stuff can be replaced."

"You've a good heart, a strong heart. I'm glad Stephanie chose you." Linda went to her desk, pulled out a knife, and walked back over to Triple H. "Hold still. You were merely grazed by the bullet but there is still a bit of metal in here. This will only hurt a bit." Linda dug the knife into the arm of Triple H and pried out the small shard of metal. The knife digging into his wound made him cringe briefly. "There." Linda placed the metal on her desk.

"That's pretty nifty." Dwayne said to Linda regarding her method of removing the metal from Triple H's arm.

"Being a part of the McMahon family means having to learn various types of warfare and recovery." Linda said as she grabbed a bundle of medical wrap out of the cabinet near her grand bookcase and wrapped up Triple H's arm. "I am a perfectionist as well as an expert strategist, so I learned it all far quicker than most." Linda sat back down in her seat.

"You never taught me that." Stephanie said. Linda smiled.

"You chose school, Stephanie." Linda retorted. "That was the best choice for you. We taught you and Shane the basics and let you make your own life decisions. Shane focused on his family and you chose to wait on family matters and better your schooling. Now, can any of you recall any distinct characteristics about your attackers? Do you remember seeing any emblems, tags, missing masks, or another form of identification?" Dwayne shook his head.

"I just remember killing a ton of 'em." Dwayne said.

"I killed the most." Triple H whispered. Dwayne looked over at him.

"Are you kidding me, man?" Dwayne whispered back. "I killed the most."

"I clotheslined, like, thirty of them."

"They didn't even come that deep! Besides, I headbutted ten of 'em!"

"You didn't headbutt ten of those creeps. You only headbutted one."

"Whatever, man. I killed more of them than you and you know it." The two men heard Linda audibly clear her throat then looked up shocked and ashamed. Stephanie then remembered something.

"Wait a minute." Stephanie said. "I ran into one of the attackers when I was making my way to the kids. It was brief, but I noticed a patch on his shoulder."

"Was there anything on it?" Linda asked her daughter.

"I don't remember too clear, but I recall seeing a star, some leaves, and a moon. It was blurry because I was leaving so quickly." Linda knew exactly what Stephanie had seen. She stood up and went for her bookcase. She then pulled out a book titled _World Emblems and Insignias_, thumbed through it, and stopped. She showed Stephanie the book.

"Is this what you saw?" Stephanie looked carefully and nodded.

"Yes! That's it exactly." Linda slowly closed her eyes.

"Are you certain?" she asked. Stephanie then grew worried.

"What does that mean?"

"The symbol you saw is a Russian patch." Linda said. "Whoever sent those men is tied in with Russian soil somehow." Stephanie then remembered the story AJ told her and fell into her chair.

"Oh no." Stephanie said as she buried her face into her palms. "Dammit."

"What is going on?" Linda asked them all.

"Linda." Triple H started. "You may want to have a seat. What I'm about to tell you might mess with you just a bit."

* * *

Randy, John, Cesaro, AJ, and Phil stayed another night at Randy's house in order to clear their heads to devise a plan of defense should they be attacked. The five of them sat in the living room and discussed each of them taking turns watching the house to alert everyone should something happen. Each of them would take 2-hour shifts with AJ going first, Phil going second, Randy going third, John going fourth, and Cesaro taking the last shift. Once they finished their meeting everyone but AJ headed to bed.

"Are you going to be alright, Babe?" Phil asked.

"I'll be fine." AJ told him. "Just get some sleep before your shift starts." Phil kissed her on the forehead and went upstairs. The house then fell silent. AJ looked around the lavished home. She began thinking about how her life was before all the events that conspired within the past two weeks. From the bistro explosion to her powers and being kidnapped, AJ felt her life slowly slipping into a comic book realm that she truly did not want to live in. Several minutes passed by as AJ's mind drifted from one thought to another until she stopped thinking entirely. She was pulled out of her trance by what sounded like footsteps. She looked up and somehow she knew who it was.

"What are you doing up, Claudio?" AJ asked without looking. "You are tired." She turned around to see Cesaro looking at her with slight confusion.

"I just wanted to check on you." Cesaro answered. AJ then noticed he was wearing nothing but his undergarments.

"John managed to get to you, did he?" Cesaro laughed at her question.

"I guess you can see everything." Cesaro said to her in reference to her powers. AJ was able to catch on.

"That part just started. How are you feeling?" Cesaro sat down next to AJ.

"Honestly," he started. "I don't know. As I'm sure you know already, John confessed that he was interested in me and has been for a while. It took me by surprise. I've never had anyone say they're interested in me outside of work storylines." AJ looked at him in amazement.

"What?" She said. "You mean to tell me no one's ever told you that you were cute or hot or sexy or anything?"

"No." Cesaro said plainly.

"You've never had a girlfriend?"

"No."

"…Boyfriend?"

"No." All AJ could do was blink at Cesaro.

"I find that hard to believe given how you look." AJ said to him.

"What do you mean by that?" Cesaro asked. AJ shrugged.

"Well, you aren't exactly ugly. You could probably pass as a model." Cesaro nearly blushed.

"Thank you, April. Like I said, though, no one has ever told me I'm attractive until John. I didn't know what to say. I felt bad for him and I felt like I hurt him so I laid in bed with him to make him feel better." AJ shook her head and laughed. "What are laughing at?"

"I know you really laid down next to him because of that feeling you get when you see John." AJ said to him. "You don't have to hide anything from me, Claudio. I'm your friend." AJ then rolled her eyes. "Well that, and my powers allow me to see emotions people hide inside." Cesaro balled his mouth up, embarrassed by his unexplainable feelings for John Cena.

"I just…" He started. "…I just don't know how to express my feelings. I've never had to do so."

"Just tell John you like him." AJ said. "You already know he likes you, and deep down you like him too. You two would be perfect for each other." Cesaro looked down and smirked.

"You think so?" he asked enthusiastically. AJ smiled.

"Of course I do. Both of you are hot. You'd be the big-booty-beauty fantasy couple for fans of both of yours." Cesaro laughed.

"Thank you for understanding, AJ." Cesaro said. "You, John, and Randy have been a big help in making me comfortable with who I am." Cesaro went to hug AJ but was stopped by her hand.

"I'd definitely feel weird having you hug me in nothing but your man panties." AJ said to him as she shook her head. "Especially with me sitting down and you hunched over me. Yeah, don't think so." Cesaro laughed. "I'm glad I could help you with that, though. You've no reason to be ashamed of anything, Claudio. Embrace who you are." Cesaro nodded and sat down next to AJ on the sofa.

"I'm working on it." Cesaro said. "What's on your mind? You look like you've been thinking hard about something." AJ sighed.

"I have been." She ran her hand through her hair. "I've been thinking about my life and how everything is going to be different because of these last two weeks. I feel like I'm losing myself a little each minute that passes. I don't even laugh at a lot of the things I remember made me laugh before all this. These powers of mine are getting stronger and I feel they aren't going to leave. I feel like this is a permanent thing. I'm afraid of what I'm able to do and what I'll be able to do when I wake up tomorrow."

Cesaro felt sorry for AJ as he knew that her gaining her abilities was no fault of hers. Because of the ignorance of another, he had to watch his friend slowly suffer from the inside out. He could see the fear in her eyes and wanted to console her but did not know how. Cesaro then thought of something he heard.

"Well," he started. "If those powers are permanent… then they are now a part of you. Remember what you told me, April. Embrace who you are." Cesaro stood to his feet. "The world called you a geek and you embraced it. Now the scientist who caused all this calls you a Goddess. I say you embrace the Goddess, April. You can truly live up to the title 'Geek Goddess' like it was meant to be." AJ blinked as she let what Cesaro said to her slowly sink into her mind. "I'm going back to bed, Geek Goddess." AJ smiled.

"Sleep well." She said to him as Cesaro walked away. When she heard the door to his room close gently, she began thinking deeper about what he said. AJ made it her mission to fight her powers for as long as she could although there had been times where they had overtaken her. She realized that the more she fought, the harder it was to live with herself as it meant she had to also hide most of her emotions from those that she loved and cared about. AJ decided that she would welcome her abilities as if they were second nature. Her powers were a part of her. AJ stood to her feet and closed her eyes. She then felt a minor headache come but instead of battling against it, she allowed it to take its course and eventually it subsided. As the headache disappeared, it left behind a feeling of strength and serenity. The petite Diva took a deep breath. "Embrace the Goddess…"

AJ started by focusing on her friend Paige. Within seconds she saw Paige walking around in her hotel room seemingly waiting on someone. AJ was able to visually scan Paige's hotel room and saw Zack sitting on the bed. The two were talking but AJ could not hear what they were saying. Upon further browsing, AJ noticed two familiar bags. She then gasped gently as she remembered that Paige had sent for Phil and her bags and the two were supposed to pick them up. She then saw Paige grab the bags and rush out of the hotel room with an upset look on her face. AJ could not see where she was going so she ended her viewing of Paige and opened her eyes. A feeling of surprise fell upon her as she began to grasp her ability to view people through the remote energies of her mind. She blinked a few times.

"I…" she said. "I did it. I can't believe I did it." AJ then stood up from the sofa and walked out into the backyard where the massive swimming pool resided. She walked up to the pool, looked at the blue water, and took several deep breaths. The next breath she took she held as she slowly lifted her arms as if she were lifting something a great weight in them. A slight pressure began to form in her head. Then the pool water began to bubble and, droplet by tiny droplet, levitated into the air until all of the water floated in a large unshapely mass in midair. AJ held the image of the floating water in her mind and averted her attention to the several pool chairs placed by the pool opening. In the same fashion, the pool chairs slowly lifted into the air. The pressure in her head grew heavier and the sensation was becoming painful. She lowered the chairs and allowed the pool water to fall back into the pool with a sound that rivaled the ocean waves in the distance. The pressure subsided and AJ blinked as the newfound control over her abilities gave her a sense of euphoria. She immediately walked back inside in case one of the men was looking for her. AJ looked at the clock above the television and a noticed that her shift would be over in a mere eleven minutes. That moment in her mind she felt someone in the house wake up. She began to focus on the feeling and was able to identify the person as John Cena. She also still felt Cesaro awake. AJ walked down the hallway to their rooms. As she passed the room Cesaro slept in she saw him still in his underwear laying on top of the blankets reading. She smiled to herself as she approached John's room and sure enough, John had just gotten up out of the bed, also in nothing but his red boxer briefs. AJ stopped and shook her head.

"You know, John." AJ started, getting John's attention. "People would definitely get twisted ideas if they walked in here and you and Claudio were both walking around in your man panties." John shrugged.

"You already know I sleep naked." John said. "I told you plenty of times. I'm only wearing these because I'm in a house with other people." The man then eyed AJ as he approached the doorway. "Can I use the bathroom? I have to pee." AJ looked deep into John's crystal blue eyes.

"Claudio likes you." She told him. John blinked at her.

"What?"

"You like Claudio and Claudio likes you. You two like each other."

"How do you figure he likes me? Did he tell you we slept together?" AJ's eyes widened.

"No." she said. "Damn. Gay relationships really do move quicker!" John narrowed his eyes.

"That's not what I meant." John said.

"I know what you meant, and I know that you two shared a bed last night. He didn't hold you last night because he felt sorry for you, John. He genuinely likes you. He just doesn't know how to tell you so I'm telling you." Just then, the two of them hear Cesaro walk up behind AJ. AJ turned around to face him.

"Is everything okay?" Cesaro asked.

"Speaking of Claudio…" AJ started. "Claudio, tell John you like him please." Cesaro shook his head. "I already told him you do, so let him hear it from you." Cesaro looked down at his feet.

"Do you, Claudio?" John asked Cesaro. That moment, AJ began to feel Cesaro getting nervous. She decided to focus on Cesaro and memorize his emotions and feelings. She then used her mind to delete the feeling of fear from Cesaro's mind and allowed him to speak freely.

"Yes, John Cena." Cesaro looked up and said. "I'm sorry for not knowing how to tell you before but I do. I like you a lot." AJ smiled and removed herself from Cesaro's subconscious.

"Okay." AJ said. "You, Claudio Castagnoli, like John Cena?" Cesaro nodded sheepishly. "And you, John Cena, like Claudio Castagnoli?" John nodded, and AJ clasped her hands together. "Good! Now will you two stop tip-toeing around this? Everybody's gonna be happy for you two so become my big-booty beauty fantasy couple already!" John looked at AJ.

"What?" Cesaro placed his hand on John's shoulder.

"I think she likes our asses." Cesaro said to him. John shook his head and then looked back at AJ.

"You and everybody else." He said to her.

"My shift is over now." AJ said. "I'm going to go wake Phil up. You two get some sleep. Please." AJ left the two men to their thoughts and went upstairs to wake up her husband. She found Phil wide awake listening to music. He pulled the headphones off when he noticed AJ standing in the doorway.

"My turn?" he asked her. She nodded.

"You didn't sleep?" Phil twisted his face.

"You should know I can't sleep less than five hours at a time. I'll sleep once my shift is over." Phil walked up to her and kissed her gently. "Get you some rest. I know you're tired."

"Easier said than done." AJ replied.

"At least try for me. Alright?" AJ nodded.

"I'll attempt this, but if I come downstairs and harass your genitals don't say I didn't tell you I wasn't tired." Phil raised an eyebrow.

"Is that some type of invitation?" he asked.

"Is that how you're taking it?"

"Read my mind and find out."

"That's no fun. I'd rather hear it from you." Phil fell silent, making AJ laugh.

"I figured that would shut you up." She said playfully before kissing him. "I'll be fine. Go keep watch. I'll probably still be up when your shift is over." Phil smiled and walked out of the room. AJ felt a sudden chill fell over her. She focused on it but was unable to discover its cause. AJ chose to lie down on the bed and close her eyes. She had been sleepier than she thought. Her eyes already felt heavy. AJ slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Let me out here, thank you." Summer Rae told the cab driver. She decided to leave her hotel room and pick up some fruit and vegetables so she called a cab driver to drive her to the supermarket. Summer walked into the store and, as expected due to the time, it was nearly void of customers. Summer made her way to the produce section of the store and began picking out melons. That moment, she was confronted by a store associate.

"Can I help you find anything, ma'am?" the young man asked Summer Rae.

"No, thank you." Summer Rae told him. "Not at the moment." He nodded.

"Well, if you need anything I'll be walking around keeping an eye on things until my shift is over. Just find me." The man left Summer to her shopping. She finished filling her basket and walked up to the register to pay. It was then that she heard faint screaming coming from outside the store. Summer then heard what sounded like gun shots. Fear swept over her as she ducked underneath the register. She then heard people run into the store frenzied. Summer Rae looked up to see what was going on and saw the entire store fill up with people. She knew she needed to get up and get out before she was trampled. She saw an opening and ran for it as quick as she could. As soon as she was outside she was able to get a closer look at the chaos that caused the madness. People were running down the street trying to get away from something or someone. As the people began to separate she saw what looked like men with firearms. Summer Rae gasped and began running with the crowd. Out the corner of her left eye she saw a little girl crying over a woman, presumably her mother, who had been shot. Summer Rae dodged the crowd to get to the girl and her fallen mother. As she looked at the woman she saw how mortifying the wound was. The woman was shot in the face and impact had blown part of it off. The little girl was holding her mother and crying. Summer Rae quickly picked the little girl up and the girl fought her almost immediately.

"Come on, honey!" Summer said to the girl as she began running with the crowd. "We have to go!" The little girl kept screaming for her mother as Summer Rae ran to keep away from the shooters. She looked and spotted a hotel and noticed no one was being let in. She quickly ran for it and met the hotel worker at the doors as he tried to fend off the people.

"Sir!" Summer Rae shouted. "Sir! Please! I have a child with me! Please let in!" Through the door, the man shouted back at her.

"I can't let you in!" he said. "My manager said only customers are allowed to enter now!" As he spoke he subtly signaled for Summer to go around the building. She caught the signal and ran as fast as she could around to the back of the building. There, the hotel worker quickly opened the door and let Summer and the child in before anyone saw them. The man led Summer down the hallway with the girl sleeping in Summer's arms.

"What is going on out there?" he asked her.

"People are shooting outside." Summer told him. "Everyone was trying to get away."

"Oh wow! I'm glad you are your daughter got away!" Summer's facial expression saddened.

"This isn't my daughter." Summer said. "Her mother was shot outside. She didn't make it."

"Oh no. She's a lucky girl. I doubt anyone else would have noticed her." Then, Summer Rae heard a familiar voice ring out from behind them.

"Danielle?" She turned around to see Brie Bella running towards them. "Oh my god, please tell me you're alright! I saw what was happening on the news!"

"I'm alright, Brie." Summer said. Brie turned to the hotel worker.

"They can come to our room." She said. "We have plenty of space."

"Normally we can't allow that." The man told her. "I'll make sure my boss knows this is a emergency though." Summer placed her free hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you so much." She said before following Brie upstairs quickly.

"I didn't know you had a child, Danielle." Brie said.

"I don't." Summer Rae replied. "I found her. She was crying over her mother."

"Oh no. Is she…?"

"Yes." Brie covered her mouth in horror.

"The poor girl. Come on. Our room's right here." Summer noticed Brie say "Our" and grew curious.

"Who's staying with you?"

"Nikki is." Summer Rae lit up.

"She is? I'm so glad she's alright."

"Hurry, Summer! Come in!" In the room, Nikki, Sami, and Dolph were sitting on the bed listening to the news when they looked over to see who Brie was talking to. Nikki stood up quickly when she realized who it was.

"Summer!" Nikki yelped. "What are you doing here?"

"She was outside." Brie said. "Her and the little girl." The commotion the three women made woke the small child in Summer's arms.

"She's waking up." Summer Rae said as she looked at her.

"She doesn't look like she's hurt or anything." Sami said as he looked closer at her.

"Lay her on the bed, Summer." Nikki insisted. Summer obliged and the little girl sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Where's Mommy?" the girl said. Summer struggled to find an answer for her.

"Mommy told us that she wanted you to be with us for a little bit." Dolph stepped in and said. "She'll be here real soon."

"She is supposed to take me to see Daddy. She pulled me out of the car and then she got hit in her face and then she wouldn't get up." Dolph took a deep breath when he realized what the girl had seen.

"What's your name, Sweetie?" Nikki asked as sweetly as she could without revealing her sorrow for the child's mother. The child hesitated a bit. "It's okay, Honey. You can trust us. We'll take you to your daddy for you." The small child blinked a few times before revealing her name.

"Alanna."


	14. Death Dances Amongst All

Triple H told Linda everything that had happened from the meeting with AJ to the invasion of their home. Linda, oddly, did not seem surprised in the least. She appeared to be expecting the news.

"I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Vince had something to do with all of this." Linda said. "It was always his way or no way. He wanted the world to stop when he stopped. I can say, however, that I never expected him to endanger other lives to this magnitude. This is very serious." Triple H nodded.

"We know, Mom." Stephanie said. "I don't know what I'd do if this is all true."

"We'll find out at the meeting tomorrow." Triple H said.

"I'll come with you." Linda said. "Me being there will make him nervous and slip up should he lie about anything you ask him."

"Thank you, Mom." Stephanie said. "We aren't bothering your schedule with this are we?"

"Not at all." Linda said with a laugh. "I'm retired. The only thing I have on my schedule is tea at nine in the morning and target practice at ten, and I can hold off on both until later on."

"Mom." Stephanie started. "You said something about target practice. Are you saying you actually have guns in this house?" Linda stood up from her chair.

"Come with me." Linda headed out of the room and Triple H, Stephanie, and Dwayne followed her. Linda led them to the very end of the hallway. She keyed in a pass code on the keypad to the right of her and the wall opened up to reveal a room filled with various firearms and armor.

"Nice!" Dwayne said. "All this is yours?"

"Yes." Linda answered. "You must be prepared for the worst when you're a McMahon, past and present." Dwayne looked around and saw something that interested him.

"This is an AR-17!" Dwayne said with thick enthusiasm. Linda smiled.

"Yes. I had it sent here from Washington." Linda pointed to a large sniper rifle. "This one was sent to me from Germany."

"Holy shit!"

"This is a DSR Precision 50 Sniper Rifle. Anyone hit with this will never hear or see it coming. It was quite expensive, though."

"I bet!" Linda was amazed at Dwayne's enthusiasm.

"You must be a gun lover." Linda said.

"You can say that." Dwayne replied. "I'm used to pistols and small guns. I've never used large guns aside from the movie props."

"I see. When the time comes, you will know exactly what to do with whatever you're given. I'm sure of it." The group then heard footsteps. They all turned to see Amber.

"Mister Shane is here, Miss Linda." Amber said. Linda nodded.

"Ah." She said. "Good. We'll be there." Linda signaled for Triple H, Stephanie, and Dwayne walk out ahead of her and they did so. Linda walked out behind them and closed the room up, waiting to make sure it was fully closed and secured. As they walked down the hall they saw Shane hugging the children. Stephanie's face lit up upon seeing her brother.

"Shane." She called out. Shane looked up and smiled. Stephanie walked up to him and hugged him as tight as she could.

"Mom told me what happened." Shane said. "I'm glad you're all okay. What the hell's going on?" Linda placed her hand on Shane's shoulder.

"You're going to want to have a seat for this one." She said. "We'll discuss it in the sitting room." Linda then looked to Amber. "Will you take the children to go play in the playroom, Amber?"

"Yes, ma'am." Amber said before going to tend to the children. The five adults went into the sitting room to the right of them and each took a seat.

"Now." Shane said. "What is going on?"

"You father is in over his head in trouble, it seems." Linda said. "Stephanie. Explain."

"Well." Stephanie started. "We were told that Dad used WWE money to hire a Russian scientist to make a steroid substitute under the radar while he was running the company."

"Whoa!" Shane said. "What?"

"I know. That's not all. When the drug was ready he had it used on one of the Divas as an experiment. He used it on AJ and she had no knowledge of it. Because of the drug, AJ is having side effects. She told us her brain is the equivalent of a Supercomputer and it is getting stronger every day. She also told us that Dad had kidnapped her so they could run tests on her and had John Cena, Randy Orton, and Claudio Castagnoli kidnapped because of their association with AJ. After AJ left our office we called Dad to ask him about all this and he said he would meet with us tomorrow to discuss it. A few hours ago our house was attacked by who we now know to be Russian mercenaries."

"You all think that Dad had something to do with all this?" Shane asked.

"Everything's pointing to him." Dwayne told him. "He hired a Russian scientist. He probably does have ties with Russia. I think he sent those guys over to shut you two up, Paul."

"We don't know for sure." Triple H said. Linda shook her head.

"You're giving Vince too much credit here, Paul." Linda said to him. "I know you see him as quite the father figure, but everything points to his involvement. You are going to have to face that if you are going to confront him tomorrow about all of this." Shane looked over to Stephanie.

"You all are going to go to him about this?" Shane said, a shade of fear coloring his voice.

"We don't have a choice, Shane." Stephanie answered. "Especially since our home was attacked and our children put in harm's way. We need to hear what Dad has to say. If he doesn't come through then we'll do what we need to do." Shane stood up and began pacing. "Shane."

"I just…" He was at a loss for words. "I can't believe this. Like, what the hell?"

"I'm going to need you to take the kids with you, Shane." Linda said to him calmly. "Amber will be going to visit her mother in the morning and my trusted guards will be with me." Shane took a deep breath.

"Alright, Mom." He said to her. "I'm glad I decided to drive the van up here." Stephanie looked at him.

"You still have that thing?" she asked him.

"That van is a family heirloom, Steph." Shane explained. "I can't just get rid of it."

"Shane. It's a van. No one drives vans anymore. Why don't you get an SUV?"

"Because I like my van." Linda sighed.

"Please, you two." She said with slight irritation. "We are in no predicament to discuss the van yet again. Shane will get rid of it when it's no longer drivable apparently, so we will stick with that." Triple H shook his head while Dwayne wore a confused look on his face.

"Just be careful with our children, Shane." Stephanie said. "I know how you like to drive."

"Come on, Steph." Shane pleaded. "I've gotten much better since the last time you saw me."

"I hope so." Everyone stood to their feet.

"Look after the kids." Triple H said to Shane. Dwayne stepped in front of him.

"My little girl can and will kick your ass if you get outta line." He said to Shane with seriousness. Shane raised his eyebrows and nodded.

"They're safe at home with me." Shane said. "Dad has no clue where I live now."

"You have our numbers." Stephanie said. "If you need anything or anything happens, call us immediately."

"I got it, you guys. I feel like a teenager getting grilled here. You all need to be more concerned with what you're going to say to Dad tomorrow." Shane hugged Stephanie and walked down the hall to go get the children. Triple H, Stephanie, and Dwayne looked at each other.

"Don't ruminate on it now." Linda said to all of them. "The best thing you can do now is sleep easy. I'll have guards follow Shane home to help ease your minds."

"Thank you, Linda." Dwayne said. All of them then heard Shane call out.

"Linda!" Shane shouted. "You guys better come look at this!" They all run to the playroom to see what Shane was speaking about. They saw him and Amber looking at the television as the news anchorman spoke.

"What's wrong, Shane?" Linda asked.

"I don't know yet." He said. "I do know someone was shooting in the city minutes ago. That's what's on the news right now." Stephanie gasped.

"Oh no." The anchorman on the television began to discuss the events showing on the news.

"We apologize for the delay." The anchorman said. "We're just hearing additional news about the shooting that happened on Fifth Street just moments ago. We have a basic description from an eye witness who managed to escape the event. We will keep their identity hidden at their request. The shooters were described to be wearing all black outfits with all of their faces covered except for their eyes. The witness is not certain about the number of shooters and chose not to estimate how many there were at this time. Right now we have no news concerning neither the number of casualties and fatalities nor where the shooters could have gone. We will give you all more news as we receive it. Please stay tuned."

They were all floored by the news. Linda said a silent prayer for the people who were killed and those who were wounded. Dwayne and Triple H shook their head in disbelief as Stephanie covered her mouth with her hands.

"What the hell is going on?" Shane asked hypothetically.

"I don't know." Triple H said. "I hate to say this, but something tells me Vince knows something about this. I just wish I knew where he was. I'd go see him myself."

"We don't know where he is so we'll have to wait." Stephanie said. Dwayne cursed out loud.

"Dammit!" He said. Linda went to console him.

"Calm down, Dwayne." She said. "There's nothing we can do until tomorrow."

"I can't sleep with all this on my brain, Linda." Linda then pulled a small container of pills out of her coat pocket.

"Here." Linda said as she opened the container and picked out one of the pills. "These are green tea chamomile pills. One of them is enough to help you sleep at least five hours. Take one of them and go rest your head." She handed the pill to Dwayne and, although reluctantly, he took it. "Amber will show you to the room you'll be staying in." Shane sighed.

"I guess I'd better get out of here while it's still calm." He said. Stephanie then turned to him.

"You're not leaving." She said to her brother. "Not while all this shooting is going on outside. You and the kids are staying here tonight. You'll leave in the morning." Shane blinked.

"Yes, Misses McMahon." He said sarcastically. Stephanie shook her head as Shane passed her to go check on the children.

* * *

"Alanna." The girl said. Nikki blinked as the name rang a bell in her head.

"What's your last name, Alanna?" Dolph asked.

"Orton." Nikki gasped.

"I knew she looked familiar!" Nikki yelped. "You guys, this is Randy's little girl!" The five of them looked at each other. Summer looked down at her feet.

"Then that means…" She closed her eyes. "Oh no. Sam."

"We gotta call Randy." Sami said.

"None of us have his number." Brie told him.

"I can call John and find out where he is." Nikki said.

"He's probably asleep right now, Nikki."

"This is important, Brie. His best friend's baby's mom was killed in that shooting and we have his child sitting in our hotel room. We need to get in contact with Randy right now."

* * *

It was still Phil's turn to watch the house while everyone else slept. For the past hour he had been tending to a few household chores that he knew would not wake his friends, though he quickly grew tired of it all. He sat down and turned on his television, making sure it was on a lower volume. As he flipped through the channels, he came across a news broadcasting of something that happened in town that night. He turned the volume up a bit so he could hear the anchorman speak.

"… As they ran from the attackers." He managed to only catch the end of the sentence. "Officials still have not identified the shooters nor have they deemed this an act of terrorism. The casualty count as of two minutes ago has been reported as at least ten dead and at least thirty injured. We suspect those numbers will change as the night goes on and we receive more information. Please stay tuned." Phil could not believe what he saw. The news station showed video footage of the area of the city affected by the events and it looked like a war had gone on. People were scattered about the streets, emergency vehicles were seen transporting the wounded to the hospitals nearby, and lights of many different colors lit up the dark streets. Phil stood to his feet and nearly ran into John Cena's room.

"John!" Phil shouted in an attempt to wake John up. "John! Get up, man!" John sat up slowly as he tried to wake up.

"Is it my turn to watch?" John said groggily.

"Something happened in the city earlier tonight. It's all over the news. Shit's bad." John blinked.

"You sure it was here?" Phil nodded.

"Get up and go see for yourself!" John got up as quick as his body would allow him and went into the living room. His heavy footsteps woke Cesaro up. Cesaro sat up and looked around.

"John?" he called out. John turned around to see what Cesaro wanted. "Is everything alright?"

"Phil said something happened tonight in the city." John answered. Cesaro got up out the bed.

"Like what?"

"It's on TV. We're gonna look at it now." Phil, John, and Cesaro went into the living room to find AJ sitting completely erect and watching the television attentively.

"April?" Phil called out to her only to receive no answer. John watched the television as the anchorman explained what happened. He cursed.

"Fuck." John said. He began walking upstairs.

"Where are you going?" Cesaro asked.

"I'm waking Randy up so he knows about this." John went into Randy's room upstairs and tapped on his forehead, making him wake up instantly with a loud groan.

"What the hell, John?" Randy said. "You know I hate being poked in the face!"

"You need to see this." John said. "Someone was shooting in the city earlier tonight." Randy's eyes widened.

"What?"

"It's on the news now." John walked out and headed back downstairs. Randy picked up his phone to check the time and noticed he had two missed calls. He unlocked his phone and noticed the calls were from his ex-wife Sam. He called her back, but was unable to reach her. He tried again but to no avail. Randy then began to worry. He walked downstairs to see John holding his phone with Phil and Cesaro looking at him. AJ's eyes were closed. John looked over to Randy with a deeply saddened expression on his face.

"What's with the long face?" Randy asked. John balled up his lips.

"Randy." He started. "Nikki just called me."

"She plans to bash your nuts in after all, huh? I'd be sad, too, hell!"

"No, Rand. It was about Sam and Alanna." Randy's eyes widened.

"What happened to them?" Randy asked. "Where's my little girl?"

"She's with Nikki and Brie, Randy." AJ answered. "Sam was shot during the shooting. She didn't make it." Randy blinked several times as the news registered in his mind.

"I want my kid." Was all he could say as he began to tremble. "Take me to Alanna."

"I told Nikki where we were." John said. "They are on their way now."

"I want my daughter, John!" Randy shouted.

"Nikki will be bringing her, Randy." Phil said. "Have a seat and try to calm down."

"Don't fuckin' tell me to calm down, mother fucker!" Randy snapped at Phil.

"Dude, chill out!"

"Fuck you!" Before Randy could say another word, he felt petite arms wrap around him with a warmth that soothed him almost instantly.

"It'll be okay, Randy." It was AJ. Randy balled up his mouth to fight back his tears.

"Get off me, Mendez." Randy said submissively. AJ then attached herself to Randy's subconscious self.

"It will be okay, Randy." Her mind said as she soothed his emotions. Randy swallowed as AJ slowly let him go. He sat down in the seat next to Phil and hung his head down.

"I'm sorry, Phil." Randy said pitifully. Phil shook his head.

"It's cool man." He said. "I woulda said and done worse than that if the shoes were on my feet."

"Alanna is safe with the girls." Cesaro said in an attempt to console Randy. "You can be happy that she is alright."

"He's right." AJ said. "Your little girl won't be happy seeing you like this, so try and perk up before she gets here. I know it's going to be hard to do, but think about what Alanna must be dealing with. Sam died right in front of her. She's going to need you to be strong for her to get past that." Randy closed his eyes and sighed.

"It's gonna be hard, most def." Randy said. "I gotta be strong for her, though. Thanks, you guys." It was then that they all heard the doorbell ring. Randy jumped up and all but ran to answer the door. He opened it and reveal that it was Paige and Zack Ryder carrying Phil and AJ's bags that were picked up from their room. Randy narrowed his eyes.

"What?" Paige popped. "Were you expecting someone else?"

"Yeah." Randy replied. "I was actually."

"If it's the Bellas…" Zack started. "They're right behind us. They brought Danielle, Nick, and Rami too for some reason." Randy tore past the two and ran down his driveway to see Brie Bella holding Alanna in her arms. When Alanna saw her father, she leapt out of Brie's arms and ran for him in tears.

"Daddy!" Alanna shouted as she closed in. Randy fell to his knees and tearfully wrapped his daughter in a paternal embrace.

"Baby girl!" Brie and Nikki look at the two with soft eyes as Sami, Dolph, and Danielle walked up. Randy looked up at all of them.

"You guys can go on inside." Randy said softly. "I need a minute." Brie nodded.

"Let's go inside." She said to everyone. They all walked into the house. AJ ran up to Brie and hugged her as tight as she could.

"I'm so glad to see you!" AJ said. "It feels like it's been ages."

"I know." Brie said. AJ let Brie go and looked at Nikki.

"AJ." Nikki started. "I just-" Before she could finish, AJ held her hand up.

"I already know, Nikki." AJ said before hugging Nikki. "I'm glad you're okay." Nikki looked confused.

"How do you know?" Paige chuckled.

"You all have a lot to catch up on." She said. AJ let Nikki go.

"She's right." AJ said. "Everyone sit down and I'll explain it to you." Then, AJ felt her phone vibrate. She unlocked it and saw that it was a text message. Her eyes widened as she looked at the name.

"What is it, AJ?" Cesaro asked. AJ blinked.

"I got a text."

"From who?" Phil asked. "Everyone who would text you aside from Celeste and PJ is all here."

"It's from Lana."

* * *

Lana quickly put her phone away as she heard footsteps coming from not too far away. She ducked down as low as she could to keep from being seen. The footsteps quickened as they fell closer and Lana's heartbeat hastened along with them. She looked through the small hole in the wall she hid behind and saw several men pass in front of her sight. As the footsteps grew faint, Lana slowly looked beyond the wall. When she felt the area was cleared, she ran as quickly as she could down the hallway until she came to a metal door. Lana struggled initially trying to open the heavy door but managed to open it without being noticed. She immediately looked to the floor and saw her father, Sergei Fedoseev, lying on the floor with a bullet wound in his abdomen. Lana ran to his side and tried to cover the wound with her blazer but he stopped her.

"We….both know that…I will not live…" Fedoseev gasped. "I need for….you to take…those vials…to April. She….will need them. The vial…marked…'Seraphim' is the serum and…the one marked 'Anti Seraphim' is the antidote…." Fedoseev's breathing began to shorten.

"Father." Lana said. "Please don't leave me."

"Go…back to America. Find…April…and give her those vials. She…will know…what to do." Fedoseev took his final breath. "I am so sorry, Aneschka. I…have failed you." As his body fell lifeless, Lana shook her head.

"You did not fail me, Father." She said. "It was not possible. You were my father. I will do your bidding, even while you're gone." Lana kissed his head and ran to retrieve the vials Fedoseev spoke of in his final moments. Sure enough, there were two vials labeled 'Seraphim' and 'Anti Seraphim' sitting on the desk along with other things. Lana also found an army knife on the desk. She put the knife in the inner pocket of her blazer and put the vials in her front pockets then ran out the back door of the room that led to a staircase. Lana walked quietly down the stairs, pulling her knife out as she descended. Once she made it to the end of the stairs and to the door leading to the outside, Lana used all of her strength to push the door open. The sunlight nearly blinded her as she had not seen the sun since she had been back to her native land of Russia. Lana ran as quickly as she could into the immense forest and did not stop until her legs could not carry her any further. She fell to her knees and crawled behind a large hollowed tree and began catching her breath. Lana then noticed the knife had fallen out of her hand as she was running but she did not care to go back to look for it. All Lana had the energy to do was cry and mourn her fallen father. The mourning did not last long, however. As Lana came to, she remembered what Fedoseev asked of her. She stood to her feet, looked around to recall where she was, and ran to her right.

* * *

Vince was escorted by twenty bodyguards to his limousine, with twelve of them sitting inside with him and the other dispersing between the two armored vehicles behind and in front of it. The ride in the limousine was quiet…too quiet. The silence made Vince McMahon uncomfortable.

"What's with all of you?" Vince asked. "Normally you all would be talking or trying to pry knowledge out of me." Neither of the twelve bodyguards said a word. "What's wrong with you? Cat got your tongue?" Vince then felt a needle hit his neck and a hand fall over his mouth to keep him from screaming. His muffled screams faded as Vince fell unconscious. One of the bodyguards smiled to himself.


	15. The True Evil

**A/N: This chapter's a bit shorter than the others. It's merely a key plot advancer. I hope you all enjoy it anyway. I look forward to your reviews and yes, I do read them. :D Working on the next chapter as you read. What do you think will happen next?  
**

Lana was able to make her way to the airport miraculously without being seen by her attackers. On her way there she purchased a hooded jacket so she could hide herself in case the people showed up. When it came to be her turn to speak to the woman selling the tickets, Lana removed her hood.

"Hello." Lana said in Russian. "I would like to purchase a ticket to New York. I have all of my identification prepared for you." The woman nodded as she received Lana's passport and birth certificate. Lana took a deep breath.

"Thank you Miss Fedoseeva." The woman said in her native Russian tongue as she handed Lana her papers back along with a slip. "If you will take this stub to that desk, we will have you a ticket seated on the next available flight." Lana walked over to the desk mentioned.

"Hello." Lana said with a smile as she handed the man the stub given to her. "I wish to be seated on the next plane to New York." The man took the stub and began keying in the information. Lana scanned the area to see if she saw someone familiar and indeed she did. Far off in the distance she spotted two of the men that were chasing her just as the man at the desk finished with her ticket.

"Ma'am." He said. "Your ticket is ready. Your flight will be right down the hallway. Flight forty-seven A." Lana nodded, took her ticket, put her hood over her head, and then walked as quickly as she could down the hallway. Lana looked back briefly and saw the men closing in on her but they were unaware of where she was as they were still looking around. She looked up and saw her flight entrance up ahead. She sighed a sigh of relief and walked into the entrance after looking back one final time. The stewardess smiled at her.

"Hello, Miss." She said. "May I have your ticket?"

"Yes." Lana said as she pulled the ticket out and handed it to the woman.

"Right this way, Miss." The stewardess signaled for the doors to be closed and guided Lana to her seat. "If you need anything I will be right down there." As the pilot came up on the intercom, Lana rested her eyes on the window. She saw the two men who were looking for her in the building arguing with one of the security guards and she smiled to herself. Her smile faded as the plane began moving as she realized that she still had a job to do. Lana decided that mourning her father further would have to wait. Her main objective was to find AJ.

* * *

"We will see you there as soon as we're done." Linda said to Shane as he loaded the children into the car. Shane nodded as the children said their goodbyes to their parents.

"We'll be there before you know it." Stephanie said to Murphy.

"Okay, Mommy." Murphy said as Shane drove off. Triple H, Stephanie, and Dwayne looked at each other.

"You guys gonna be alright?" Dwayne asked.

"Of course they are." Linda chimed in. "It's just a little family get together, a meeting of the minds if you will."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be there in case fists decide to meet."

"There won't be any of that to worry about, Dwayne." Linda looked at the three of them. "Let's go nip this in the bud." The four of them got into Linda's limousine and were taken to the WWE Headquarters where they were meeting with Vince McMahon. The ride itself was quiet. No one spoke a word as they sat in the limousine and the air was thick enough to cut through with a blunt object. They made it to the headquarters in what seemed like hours, and when the ride stopped the four were let out by the bodyguards. Linda looked at Triple H and Stephanie.

"Remember, you two." Linda said. "Don't let what happened last night get to you. You need to find out what Vince's role in all of this is. We'll deal with that when this meeting is over." Dwayne put his hand on Triple H's shoulder.

"We'll be right there for you." Dwayne said.

"We'd better get in there." Stephanie said. "I want to get to the bottom of this." The four of them walked up to the large glass doors and are met by the receptionist. Stephanie immediately noticed that they were not someone she recognized. She brushed it off as she knew that they were still in the process of cutting and replacing staff in the building.

"Mister and Misses Levesque." She greeted. She seemed nervous. "Nice to see you. Good to see you as well, Misses McMahon." Linda furrowed her brow then smiled.

"It's Miss." She said. "I'm divorced."

Oh forgive my mistake." the woman said. Linda shook her head.

"It's alright. We have an appointment with my ex-husband, Vince McMahon." The receptionist nodded nervously.

"Right. He is waiting for you in the Brighton room."

"Thank you." Triple H said to her as they all walked past her desk to the elevator. Dwayne looked back at the woman with confusion as she stared at the place they were all standing without moving an inch. The woman heard the four of them enter the elevator and she then heard a voice through a small speaker in her ear.

"Good girl." The voice said. "You may remove the bomb. It has been deactivated. Remember. Call the police and I will come for you." The speaker clicked off and she threw it in the trash as she ran for the bathroom. She removed her clothes and then carefully pulled a device from within her vagina. The woman cringed as she opened the cap on it and poured the powder down the toilet. She took a deep breath and began sobbing.

In the elevator, Linda, Stephanie, Triple H, and Dwayne waited quietly. The silence, however, began to get to Dwayne.

"You know." He started. "For such an expensive elevator, this thing sure moves hella slow." Triple H narrowed his eyes.

"It's built for comfort." Triple H explained. "Not speed."

"Now hold on. I'm not saying it needs a freaking W-12 engine in it, but damn. It feels like it's taking Christmas a quad over just to go ten floors up, man." Linda closed her eyes while Stephanie shook her head.

"We have a fucking interview within the next three minutes and you're complaining about an damn elevator?"

"Whoa whoa. I'm just saying it could go faster. That three minute wait could have been a one minute wait or, hell, a no minute wait! Think about it."

"There's nothing thay can be done now, Rock. Just deal with it."

"All I'm saying is that we probably have gotten up here quicker taking the stairs."

"Dammit, Dwayne. You can get off right now and take the stairs up if you want. Otherwise, shut up about it! Alright?" Dwayne rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders, deciding it was not worth it to continue. After a few moments, however, as his pride did not allow Triple H to have the final say, Dwayne spoke again.

"I'm just saying, Paul." Triple H took a deep breath and sighed. That moment, the elevator opened and Dwayne became relieved. "Finally…"

"Don't do it, Rock!" Triple H said. Dwayne looked over at him and smirked. "I mean it! Don't fucking do it!"

"The Rock HAS COME BACK…to da HEADQUARTERS!" Triple H rolled his eyes. Linda politely turned to the three.

"If you all are done with your shenanigans…" Linda started. "We can proceed to get off this elevator and not miss our engagement." Linda walked out of the elevator. Stephanie looked at Triple H and Dwayne and shook her head.

"I'm starting to think that you married the wrong Diva, Paul." Stephanie said before walking out. Dwayne looked at her then at Triple H.

"What the hell did she mean by that?" Dwayne asked.

"I don't know." Triple H answered. "Let's just get this over with so we can all go home." The two men walk out of the elevator and down the hall to see Linda and Stephanie frozen. Triple H furrowed his brow as he looked into the conference room and saw not Vince McMahon, but three other people. One of them was a tall white man with black hair, topaz eyes, and a muscular build. He wore black military fatigues and black leather gloves with the fingers cut from them. Another was a tan-skinned brunette woman who was a bit shorter than the other man. She wore the same fatigues he wore, though they fit her curvier feminine figure. The last one of them was a slender short-haired blonde white man sitting in the executive chair wearing a black leather trench coat, what appeared to be a black suit, and black sunshades. Linda was the first to speak.

"We will be having a meeting in this room." Linda said to the trio. "My husband will be here any moment now." The man laughed light-heartedly.

"I'm afraid Vincent McMahon is not going to make it to this meeting." The man sitting in the seat said in a thick foreign accent. Linda immediately identified it as Russian. "We will be standing in his place."

"Who the hell are you?" Dwayne asked harshly. The taller man stepped to move but the slender man stopped him.

"It appears you three are not educated in Vincent McMahon's dealing with us." The slender man said. "McMahon owes me a great deal." Linda furrowed her brow.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"Vincent came to me with a proposition. He wanted my most highly regarded scientist to work for him in exchange for seven hundred-four billion Rubles, or approximately thirteen-point-four billion American dollars. He still owes me money. In addition to that, he has caused the death of my scientist and his daughter. It has deeply hurt me." Stephanie looked at Linda and then at the man.

"How much does he owe you?" She asked him. "We will settle the debt for him."

"I'm afraid you cannot do that, Misses Levesque." The man said to Stephanie. "We do not want your money, and we do not believe in people fixing the problems of others. He, and only he, will pay what he owes." Linda was baffled by the news.

"This is crazy!" Dwayne said. "I refuse to believe that crap! Vince is kinda crazy, but he'd never do something this damned dirty!" Triple H stood to his feet.

"We want to speak to him." He said. "Where is he?" The slender man shrugged his shoulders.

"Do not worry." He said. "You will see him soon enough." He shifted in the seat. "We have taken the liberty of interrogating Vincent for you. He is responsible for the explosion that night. He is responsible for injecting the drug into April Mendez with the experimental chemical. He is responsible for the loss of your beloved Bryan Danielson. He is responsible for forcing my hand by ignoring my many attempts to reach him. Therefore, for everything that has happened you have Vincent McMahon to blame."

Triple H, Stephanie, Dwayne, and Linda were speechless as the information they received confirmed that AJ's story was true. Stephanie began to fear the group sitting in front of them and started to sweat.

"Where is my father?" She asked. The man smirked, turned to the taller man, and signaled to him. The taller man went into the room behind them and rolled out another seat. In that seat sat a tied up Vince McMahon struggling against the ropes he was tied in. the man ripped the tape off of Vince's mouth and Vince immediately started yelling.

"What in hell do you people think you're doing?" He shouted. "Do you know who the hell I am, dammit?" The slender man signaled the tall man to remove the blindfold from Vince's eyes. As Vince's sight began to return to normal, he looked around to see who he was yelling at. He saw the black clad trio in front of him and his family, along with Dwayne, behind him. "What the hell is this? An intervention?"

"We know, Vincent." Linda said simply. Vince furrowed his brow.

"What are you talking about? Know what?" Stephanie stomped over to face her father with a furious expression on her face.

"AJ was right!" Stephanie shouted at him. "You used company money and hired these people to make a drug for you and you… _sold_ April to them as a guinea pig! What the hell were you thinking?"

"I did what I needed to do for the company!" Vince yelled back.

"You ruined April's life and you put our family in danger! April is suffering side effects to the drug that _you_ had put in her! Bryan Danielson is dead and Brianna is a widow because of you! Your grandchildren were shot at because of you!" Stephanie was in tears; she was furious beyond comprehension at her father. "Don't you care about that? Does that mean to you?" Vince's face showed the fury that he handed down to his daughter.

"No!" he shouted. "Neither of you morons can run that company like me! You all forced me to retire! If I can't have _my_ company, then no one will! When the feds catch the records, the WWE will be destroyed! All that other crap was just bad luck!" Linda quickly paced to her ex-husband and proceeded to slap him across the face as hard as her arm allowed.

"You no-good nutless bastard!" she uncharacteristically harped. "You had our children and grandchildren put in harm's way! People have died because of you and all you care about is that _damned_ company! I did right to divorce you! You probably would have put a hit out on me if I filled a check out wrong!" The slender man tilted his head from one side to the other.

"That is enough." The man said, causing all of them to pay attention to him. "I am truly sorry to disperse such a touching family moment, but it is time to explain exactly what I want and what will happen if I do not get it." He stood up from the seat. "Vincent, you owe me exactly one-point-four billion dollars." Vince spat.

"I owe you nothing!" he said. "You were paid in full as agreed."

"Your people short-changed me, McMahon, and you were in on it." Vince furrowed his brow. "Someone revealed to me that you held back some of my payment to try and sponsor a new wrestling brand." He walked over to Vince. "This information, of course, did not come easily. It took quite a bit to break him I must say. He was a strong man." Vince knew exactly who the man spoke of. He began to weep. His family looked at him with shocked eyes.

"You mother fucker!" Vince shouted in defeat. The man shook his head.

'You should have never messed with my money, McMahon." Dwayne went to move and hit the slender man but had a gun pointed directly at him by the woman standing beside him.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you." She said in her Russian accent.

"Thank you, Eva." The man said. "In the blood of April Mendez now flows the only remaining trace of the chemical my scientist created. We need her to replicate his work. You will bring April to us along with the rest of my money or there will be dire consequences and, as I'm sure you all are aware, we are far more than just three."

"I don't give a damn who you are or how many of you there are!" Vince harped. "You aren't getting another damn dime out of me!" The man shook his head.

"I'll be damned!" Linda yelled. "Vince, you pay this man and make this right or I swear to god!"

"Miss McMahon." The man said to Linda. "I regret to inform you that his answer is stone clad and only he can settle his debt." Linda looked at the man in anger.

"I can pay you what he owes so that you will be satisfied and you're telling me you don't want it?" she asked.

"It makes no difference where the money comes from. I believe a man's word is his bond. Breaking that bond is not an option. Vincent promised me with his word and he broke his word. Only he can mend it and he refuses so I must do what I need to do."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Triple H asked. The trio did not answer him. They simply walked past them all with the woman pointing her gun at them.

"We will be meeting again." The man said to Vince. "Hopefully you will have what I asked for ready for me when I see you next." The trio walked out of the conference room. Dwayne quickly darted out of the room to follow them.

"Rock!" Triple H yelped. "Don't!" His cry fell on deaf ears as his friend ran out into the hallway. Dwayne was surprised to find that the people who had just left the room mere seconds ago were nowhere to be found. He looked around with a confused look on his face before running back into the room.

"They disappeared." Dwayne said. "I didn't see 'em anywhere." Linda looked back to Vince.

"I could kill you myself for this!" she said, still furious about what was revealed about him.

"Stand in line, Mom!" Stephanie said to her. Triple H stepped in front of them.

"Look, you two." Triple H said with a hint of anger. "I'm just as furious as you are, but if we knock Vince off here we won't be able to settle Vince's debt." Linda and Stephanie backed away from the man who caused the turmoil.

"You're right." Linda said. "I let my emotions get to me." Linda turned back to Vince. "Vince. Before I untie you I have some questions to ask you. I'm only going to ask you these questions once. Did you pay that man his money?" Vince huffed.

"You know me, Linda." He said.

"Which is why I asked you that question first. Answer me." Vince answered with no hesitation.

"Of course not! I wasn't going to give that Serb that amount of money! I had plans." Stephanie's face turned a vibrant red.

"Did you offer April to be an experimental canvas for a steroid replacement you sponsored with WWE money?" Vince nodded. "Are you the reason this Russian group is causing turmoil amongst the city?"

"Yes!" Vince yelled. "What is the point of all this? You know the truth! Why ask me what you already know?" Linda reached under her collar and pressed a button.

"I asked you because I needed everyone else to hear it." Linda said. "I now have your confession recorded both through hidden video…" Linda then pointed at her earpiece. "…As well as additional audible support. Now, either you pay this man what you owe him and beg his forgiveness or I will personally turn you into the proper authorities and see that you are banished from this city, this country, and this family. I will make sure that you have not a penny to your name when I am done with you, Vince! You will contact that man, pay your debt, and make this right!" Linda looked at Dwayne. "Dwayne. Untie him for me please." Dwayne shook his head and did as Linda asked him. Vince fell out of the seat.

"You are the scum of the Cosmos." Stephanie said plainly. "To put someone's life in jeopardy because you didn't want us to have the company you made a mess of is low, even for you. When this is all over, do not ever contact me or my family ever again." Triple H and Stephanie walked out of the room.

"I do hope you're happy." Linda said. "You now have all of Russia against you and no one in your family wants to help you. Think about what I told you and choose wisely this time." Linda walked out and left Dwayne and Vince in the room alone. Vince looked up to see Dwayne staring down at him.

"I should be whooping yo' candy ass all over this room." Dwayne said. "But like Paul said, that won't do good for the long haul. You'd better pay those people because if my daughter gets put in harm's way again because of this I'm coming for you and I don't care who I'll have to go through!" Dwayne spat right in front of Vince and walked out of the room with heavy steps. Vince looked back down to the floor and began to cry.

"Dammit, Heyman!"


	16. The Game Begins

Brie was the first to wake up out of everyone who stayed at Randy's home. She looked around the home as she sat up in the sofa and carefully maneuvered around her friends who slept on the floor. She made her way to the door that led to the pool in the backyard and stepped outside. Brie had gotten mesmerized by the sounds of the ocean as it danced with the gentle wind. She then looked to the stone fence past the pool and saw AJ sitting on it watching the waves. Brie walked carefully to get to where AJ was sitting so she did not disturb her.

"Good morning, Brie." AJ said without turning around. Brie stopped in her tracks.

"April?" Brie asked rhetorically. "Did I disturb you?"

"No. I just knew you would be out here." Brie walked up to AJ and sat down next to her. AJ looked at Brie. "I'm worried about Catherine." Brie looked puzzled.

"Why, April?" She asked. "Didn't she help Vince find you?"

"I know that. I just feel like she was only doing that because of her father. Her text sounded so urgent and then when I called she didn't answer. I can't find her in my mind either." Brie then began getting curious.

"Not to change the subject so quickly…" she started. "…But what exactly can you do with your mind, April?" AJ shook her head.

"I'd freak you out if I told you." AJ said.

"I really want to know." AJ shut her eyes.

"No. You don't. You're actually afraid to hear what I might say because you're afraid it'll be something like commanding animals or bringing back the dead." Brie blinked at AJ's ability.

"You read my mind." Brie said.

"Literally."

"What else can you do?"

"That's the thing. I don't know what all I can do, and I feel like I'm getting stronger with every breath I take. As far as I know right now I can read minds, use telekinesis, and I just found out I can throw my sight outside of my body. I'm not sure the range on that, but I was able to see Paige in her hotel room last night before she and Matt came with our bags. I honestly have no way of knowing what I'll be able to do until I try it. The bad thing is that I'm beginning to feel like…" AJ paused briefly. "…like I'm not human anymore. I can't explain it any other way." As Brie listened to AJ explain herself, she had gotten an idea.

"Can't you use your powers to find Mister McMahon?" Brie asked AJ. AJ shook her head.

"I already tried." AJ said. "I couldn't see him for some reason. I guess he was too far away from me when I tried that." Brie nodded as her theory was thrown out. She went back to watching the ocean and the two were silent for several minutes before AJ spoke again.

"I'm going to find Cat." She said, making Brie look at her.

"What?" Brie said.

"I'm going to find Catherine. I can't shake this bad feeling I have. I feel like she is in trouble and is looking for me."

"You're going by yourself? That's not a good idea, April."

"I'll be fine. When I find her I'll come back." April turned to look at Brie. "I need you not to tell anyone what I'm going to do." Brie furrowed her brow.

"Are you thinking about leaving without telling everyone?" She asked.

"They'll just try to talk me out of it. I want you all to focus on staying safe until I come back. I know those people who shot up the city are looking for Vince, and when they find him they are going to come looking for me." Brie began to get worried.

"How do you know that those shooters are tied in with the people Vince made that deal with?" Brie asked.

"Vince owes the head man in charge a lot of money for going back on his word. Once they get rid of him they're going to want to find me so that they can experiment on me, and they'll go through whoever they need to in order to get to me. I want everyone in that house to be ready."

"Are you talking about guns and firearms, April?" Brie violently shook her head. "I can't handle those things! That is way out of my league. We should just get the authorities involved in this."

"We can't do that, Brie. That's going to cause the media put us out there because we're all with the WWE. They'll find all of us that way."

"But what they did last night was an act of terrorism and I know the authorities are already involved in this because of that. Why not just tell them what's going on, Apr-" Before Brie could finish, AJ shouted.

"Because I don't want to be on that fucking table again, Brie!" AJ began to cry but immediately stopped and took a deep breath. "I want my life back! I can't do that until all of this is made right. Vince gambled with a demon and took me with him. He's too much of a coward to deal with this so I'm going to, which is one of the larger reason why I need to find Catherine. I know she knows something about all this. She has to know how to stop them." AJ then grabbed Brie's shoulders. "You can't tell anyone where I'm going, no matter how bad Phil grills you." Brie shut her eyes and took a breath before answering.

"I won't tell anyone." Brie said. "Just get back here as quick as you can, okay?"

"I will be in touch."

"Are you leaving now?" AJ nodded. Brie hugged her as tight as she could.

"Remember." AJ started. "Not a word to anyone." Brie nodded.

"Okay, April." Brie let AJ go. AJ turned around and then jumped off of the stone fence, making Brie look over the fence with a worried look on her face. She saw AJ skillfully climbing down the cliff and watched in amazement. "I wish I could do that." She then heard the back door open and turned around to see John Cena holding his phone.

"Brie." He said.

"Good morning, John." She replied.

"Have you seen April? Stephanie needs her. It's urgent." Brie balled up her lips as she found it hard to keep secrets from John but she knew she had to.

"I think she's still sleeping." She lied. John pointed back into the house.

"I just asked Phil where she was and he said she was out here."

"I'm not sure where she is, John. April wasn't out here when I came out." John cursed out loud as he grew worried. "What's going on?" John then felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Phil.

"Did you find her?" Phil asked.

"No." John answered. "What's worse is I think something's wrong. Paul just called and asked to see April right now." Phil became worried.

"So no one knows where she is?" John looked back to Brie.

"You sure you didn't see her, Brie?" he asked her. Brie quickly nodded her head.

"Then we do have a problem." Phil said. "April's out there by herself with Vince McMahon and some Russian mad scientist probably looking for her right now. What did Paul want, John?"

"He didn't say." John answered. "He just said he wanted to see April."

"Well, she's obviously not here, so what do we do?" John folded his arms.

"We gotta find April and make sure-" John's phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that it was Stephanie. He quickly answered.

"Hello?"

"John. April is with you right?"

"We all slept at Randy's last night but she must have left early this morning. She isn't here." John heard Stephanie curse.

* * *

"Tell everyone over there we will be holding a full-staff meeting in the Conference Hall in two hours. Every Superstar and Diva is required to come….Alright. Don't be late." Stephanie hung up the phone. Triple H looked at her.

"What did he say?" He asked.

"He said April isn't there so we're doing what Mom suggested. We can't go to the FBI with this so we're working internally."

"Linda, how do we know that everyone's gonna participate in this?" Linda blinked.

"You will have to make them an offer that they can't refuse." Linda told Triple H. "You all should know what makes your employees work for you. Offer them more of that and explain the importance of their presence to them."

"I'll do it for a shoe box full of M&amp;Ms." Dean Ambrose said. Triple H had called Dean, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns in to provide additional protection. All three of them wore their former wrestling attire when they were in their Shield stable. Dean leaned on the wall of the room, Seth sat in the office chair next to Vince McMahon as if he were guarding him (Linda had injected Vince with a non-toxic tranquilizer and put in to sleep as he would not stop shouting), and Roman stood near the door looking out of it every so often. Linda looked over to Dean.

"Is that all you want?" She asked him. Dean shook his head and grinned.

"There uh lotta thangs that I want." Dean said in a faux Western movie accent. "But wut I need is fer ya tah tell me-" He withdrew the accent and spoke naturally. "-what it is you guys want. I'm not too keen on having my sleep broken when I don't have to work, ya know."

"That would be nice." Seth chimed in. Triple H sat down in a chair.

"We told you we'll explain it all to you in the meeting." He explained to the three men.

"We heard that." Seth said. "Don't you think that we're a different case since we're supposed to be helping with looking after you?" Dwayne shrugged his shoulders.

"Guy's got a point, man." He said to Triple H, making him huff at the taller man. "What?"

"Brief them at least, Paul." Linda instructed. Roman turned around to face Triple H as he sighed.

"The short version…" Triple H started. "Is Vince got himself into some mess he can get out of…" Triple H glared at Vince as he spoke. "…but won't…and we can't exactly go to the people with it so we are gonna ask all of you to help us fight these guys off until 'Dad' comes to his senses." Dean folded his arms.

"So Big Poppa Pump here is in a jam and you want us to clean it up?" Dean leaned back on the wall. "Like always?" Triple H ran his hand over his beard.

"Yes, Jonathan." Linda said. "Like always." Dean threw his hands up and Seth looked over at Linda.

"What exactly did Mister McMahon _do_ anyway?" He asked her.

"Now that we will tell all of you during the meeting." Dean huffed.

"Aww." He said pathetically. "Come on. You don't think we need to know that?"

"All of you need to hear it at the same time." Linda said.

"Alright, fine." Dean began walking around the office as he started to get restless. "What time is this meeting anyway?"

"Two hours." Roman answered in his stoic yet sultry voice. Dean ran his hands through his messy hair.

"Two hours of sitting in here." He said with a laugh. "Greeeeat."

"Stephanie told us what would happen if AJ didn't show, Jon." Seth said. "It's not like you didn't know unless you just weren't listening." Dean shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, I wasn't listening." Dean said apathetically. "I was playing Fruit Ninja. I finally made it to Level Ten." Seth shook his head. Then Stephanie walked back into the room and everyone looked at her. She had stepped into the bonus area to send a message to every Superstar and Diva.

"I sent a mass voice message to everyone I haven't spoken to yet." She said. "All of us will be meeting downstairs by Eleven." Triple H nodded with a smile.

"Good." He said. "That's out of the way."

"We're waiting longer now?" Dean asked. "Just waiting around here?"

"That's about all we can do right now." Dwayne said. "Just sit here and look pretty."

"Dammit." Dean said as he plopped down in one of the rolling office chairs. "I thought there was gonna be some action or something! Geez!" Seth balled up his mouth.

"Hey Joe." He said to Roman. "You mind sharing some of your Cool-Calm-Collective with Jon? He could really use a shot of it."

"Screw that." Dean retorted. "Ol' Tight Ass can keep his Triple C. I'll just sit here and think about being in my bed since, you know, I'm here and not there like I planned." Everyone sat silently as they began waiting for the time to pass. After several minutes, Dean then looked over to Dwayne who took a seat across from him. "How much food do you eat again?" Dwayne looked up at Dean.

"What?"

"How much food do you eat?"

"What the hell kinda question is that?"

"Dude, just answer the question." Triple H shook his head as he knew having Dean and Dwayne in the same room together would wear on his nerves.

"About ten pounds a day." Dwayne answered. Dean's eyes widened.

"No fooling?" Dean asked rhetorically. "That's a lot of fucking food, man. How the hell do you eat all that?"

"I just do. I'm used to it now." Dean raised his eyebrows at Dwayne's response.

"I bet I could eat all that and more." Dwayne looked at Dean with pleasure.

"Oh yeah? Many have tried, many have fallen." Dean waved off Dwayne's comment.

"Yeah, yeah. Cut the malarkey. I know I can eat more food than you, 'Rocky.' There's nothing to it."

"Yeah? Well, after this shit here's done, how about you and I try that theory of yours out?" Dean put on his crazy face and leaned forward to lay his hands on the table.

"Is that a challenge, Rocky?"

"I think it is."

"Then you're on, Croaker Face!" Dwayne looked at Dean with an irritated look on his face.

"Croaker Face." He said simply.

"Yup." Dean replied.

"Croaker Face?"

"Eating Contest?" Dean's comment made Dwayne slam his hand on the table.

"That's what I'm talking about!" He said cheerfully. "Just bring your toothpaste cause your breath is gonna be talking back to ya!"

"Dude." Dean said. "I have my own toothpaste. I'll be ready."

"Ready for this ass whoopin'!"

"Nope. I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"Easy, fella. I'm gonna be the one kicking you in your candy ass!" Dean furrowed his brow.

"Are you calling my ass sweet?"

"Is that what you got outta that?"

"Yup."

"Then 'yup.' I'm calling your ass sweet!"

"You like candy, Croaker Face?"

"I love candy, Starburst."

"Wanna try my candy ass?" Seth looked at the two men with disgust.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" He yelped.

'I'm bored as hell, Colby!" Dean snapped back. "Whatever comes to my head, I say!"

"So the first thing you do is hit on The Rock? I didn't even know you were into dudes, Dean. How do you know that he's into dudes?"

"I'm not into fuckin' dudes, Colby!"

"You just offered your 'candy ass' up to Dwayne like it was something you did on the reg."

"I just told you I am bored. I'm bored shitless sitting here."

"So you offer up your 'candy ass' to people when you're bored? I'm glad you're always entertained when you're with me."

"Dammit! Shut up, Colby!" Dwayne blinked at Dean.

"That did kinda tear off into left field there." He said. Dean looked over at Dwayne.

"You went with it." Dean said. "You're no better than me, Rocky." Dwayne shook his head.

"Whatever, Jon Boy!" Dwayne then began thinking. "What the hell were we even going on about in the first place?"

"Eating contest." Roman broke in and said as he shut his eyes.

"Yup." Dean said. "Me kicking your ass in an eating contest, Croaker Face." Dwayne narrowed his eyes.

"Oh no hell no, Jon Boy!" he retorted. "I'm gonna be the one to kick your ass right after you're done packing it full of food!" Dean smirked.

"Back to my ass again, huh? Keep it up and I just might show you my pale 'candy ass'!" Seth slammed his head on the desk.

"Who the fuck told you I wanted to see your ass?"

"Guilt speaks before the brain does, Rocky."

"I don't do strudel, Jon Boy!"

"Like I said. Guilt speaks before the brain does." Roman looked over at Dean.

"Knock it off, Jon." He said.

"What?" Dean said with innocence in his voice. Triple H rubbed his temple in annoyance.

"I don't think I can deal with both of them in the same room at once." He said to himself.

* * *

Natalya hung up her phone after she listened to the message sent by Stephanie. She stared at it for a minute before Tyson came down the stairs after getting out of the shower.

"What's wrong, Nat?" Tyson asked his wife.

"I just got a message from Stephanie." Natalya answered. "She said she wants everyone to meet her and Paul at the Conference Building in two hours. She sounded pretty upset."

"Let me hear it." Natalya played the message for him.

"Good morning." Stephanie said in the message. "This is Stephanie McMahon, Co-Owner and Creative Chief of the WWE. A dire situation has come across our desks and we need all Superstars and Divas to report to the WWE Conference Building here in New York City at Eleven AM for a informative meeting. It is imperative that you be here if you are scheduled to be in New York City to show up to the meeting. I repeat. All Superstars and Divas are to report to the WWE Conference Building in New York City at Eleven AM. Thank you for your time." Tyson looked at the phone in confusion.

"What do you think they want to inform us of?" He asked.

"I'm not sure" Natalya answered. "We'd better get a move on, though. It will take us an hour to get there from here. I don't wanna be late."

"I'm gonna go upstairs and get dressed." Tyson all but ran up the stairs to get ready so they could leave to be to the meeting on time. Natalya began thinking about what Stephanie could be addressing in the meeting. Her first theory was about the incident with Nikki Bella. Natalya thought that because Nikki tried to commit suicide a mere three days ago that it would need to be addressed within the company before the media began the usual twisting of stories. Her next theory was the bombing at the bistro. She thought that the company may have been informed of who it was that planted the bomb or additional information pertaining to it.

"What could she want?" Natalya asked herself. She then heard Tyson come back down the stairs. She looked at him in amazement. "That's the quickest I've ever seen you dressed for anything."

"We have a deadline, babe." Tyson said. "I already feel like I'm in jeopardy of being turned into a jobber. I'd hate to get into Paul and Stephanie's box of screw-ups. Are you ready?" Natalya nodded.

"Yeah." Her face showed a hint of distraught.

"Are you okay?" Tyson asked her.

"I was just thinking about what Stephanie could want." Tyson grabbed her shoulders.

"Don't obsess, Nat. You'll only worry yourself to death. We'll find out when we get there." Natalya nodded and kissed Tyson on the lips.

"Alright." Natalya said. "Let's get out of here before we fall behind."

* * *

"I know that's what it's about!" Paige yelped. Everyone staying at Randy's home had either awakened themselves or was torn from their sleep by Stephanie's mass message. All of them gathered in the living room to discuss transportation and what exactly Stephanie would discuss during the meeting. John did his best to explain what it meant. However, Paige felt that it all stemmed from AJ and everything going on in her life at that moment. Never being one to hold her tongue, Paige spoke out. "I'll be shocked if the meeting isn't about something dealing with AJ."

"Maybe you're right, Saraya." Randy said. "Maybe not. We won't know until we leave this house and get to the Conference Building." He then put on his iconic face of sarcasm. "Oh yeah, we should probably discuss who is riding with who here since we have more people here than we did, like, five hours ago." Sami huffed.

"We all came here in cars, man." Sami said to Randy. "We can just ride there like we rode here." Randy thought about it and shrugged.

"Fair enough." Nikki stood up.

"We should all get going then." She said to everyone. "It won't look good for all of us to be late." Phil rubbed his head as he was visibly agitated that he had to stand in AJ's place.

"Do I really have to go?" Phil asked.

"If they say anything about your wife you'll want to hear it from them and not from one of us." John said in an attempt to make a point. Sami looked over at Phil.

"I'll make sure nobody bothers you about AJ, man." He said. Phil raised his eyebrows and looked down.

"Thanks, Rami." Phil said with the least amount of care possible. "I feel so much better knowing you're my guardian angel."

"I'm just saying. I'll stand up for you." Paige waved her hand.

"Phil just isn't awake yet." Paige said to Sami. "That and, like all of us, he's worried about AJ. Just give him some time."

"Yeah yeah." Randy said as he stood to his feet. "Everybody get ready to get outta my house." Alanna walked up to her father and tapped him on the leg.

"Where am I gonna sit, Daddy?" she asked Randy. He picked his little girl up and held her with one arm.

"You're riding with me, Pumpkin!" he said to her. Alanna smiled big.

"Yay!" Randy returned the smile and then looked at his friends.

"You guys all go ahead." He said to everyone. "I'll lock up." Everyone headed out of the house. Cesaro, however, stopped in the doorway and turned to Randy. "What's up, Claudio?"

"I just wanted to say hello to the little one." Cesaro said. He smiled at Alanna and waved. "Good morning, Alanna." Alanna giggled as Cesaro turned to head out of the house. She then tapped her father on his shoulder.

"Daddy." She said. "What's his name?"

"That guy's name is Mister Claudio." Randy replied.

"Mister Claudio has a pretty smile." Randy laughed to himself as he headed for his car where John and Cesaro were waiting on him.

* * *

It was Eleven-oh-four. As Stephanie requested, every Superstar and Diva minus AJ found a seat in the large seating area of the Event Room. The air buzzed with chatter as the two owners of the WWE, Dwayne Johnson, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Linda McMahon stepped up on the large stage. Triple H stepped out and up to the podium. He tapped the microphone to make sure it worked before speaking.

"Thank all of you for coming here on such short notice." He began. "I know a lot of you were still sleeping. Well, I know all of you are wondering why we called you here. We called you here because we need your help. My father-in-law has gotten your company into…" Triple H paused for a moment before deciding that trying to be professional would not get his message across as efficiently as he wished. "He's in some deep shit right now and he got us and all of you involved in it. Most importantly, he risked the life of one of your fellow employees, one of your friends. Now, before you get into an uproar, let me explain something. Vince owes the people he dealt with a lot of money and he refused to pay them. Miss Linda here is going to make him pay these people their money. The problem is that these guys are violent. The people who shot up the town were a part of this group and they aren't the only ones. Common sense tells all of us that the FBI is already on that case which brings us to our next problem. The people Vince dealt with warned us not to go to the police or that shooting will happen again and on a greater scale. They will be back here in four days to see if Vince changed his mind. They will come back armed and dangerous and this time we won't know they're here because they'll be under the spotlight. We want to take the head man down when he gets here but we can't do it alone. This is where all of you come in. We need all your help. We want all of you to fight these people with us until either Vince pays these people or they're all dead." Cameron ended up raising her hand to speak. "Yes, Ariane?"

"So you sayin' that you want all of us to literally fight these mystery people?" Cameron asked him. Linda stepped in front of the podium.

"Yes, young lady." Linda said. "That is exactly what we're saying. If any of you want to go home and not worry about this, then the door is behind you. We won't think any less of you." Cameron and several others including Heath Slater, Curtis Axel, Charlotte, and Kevin Owens stood up and walked out with Paige and Sheamus shouting at all of them as they made their ways out. As the door closed shut again, Linda stepped back out and allowed Triple H to have the floor again.

"Safe to say…" Triple H started. "That we've gotten rid of the weaklings now. Let's get down to business. When these Russian guys come here they're coming with heat. We got heat stronger than theirs and we're gonna need you all to learn how to use it. Can you all do it?"

"If'n it means I get ta fight n' make a mess of meself…" Sheamus started in his thick Irish accent. "Count me in!"

"Got that right!" Ryback shouted! "Send those bastards this way! I'll take 'em down!"

"Not 'til I get my feel, Big Guy!" Wade Barrett said to Ryback. The rest of the crowd got riled up and the owners watched them with glee before trying to calm them down.

"Alright, alright." Triple H waved. "We're gonna need to start training everyone now. We need a vote. Everybody in?" Everyone shouted "Yeah!" "I'm glad to hear we're all on the same page. Linda here is gonna take all of you to where we're going to get you trained and prepared. It won't be easy but I know all of you will do us proud." Linda stepped down from the stage.

"All of you come with me." She said before turning to head out of the large room with everyone following her. Randy, with Alanna in hand, stopped in front of Triple H and Stephanie.

"Paul." Randy said. "I need to talk to you about Alanna. I need for you all to look after her while all this is going on. Sam's…" Randy could not say what happened to her. Stephanie immediately understood and placed her hand on Randy's arm.

"It's alright." Stephanie said in an attempt to console him. "We will personally have her taken to Shane's with our girls."

"Thank you, Stephanie." Randy looked down to his little girl. "Wanna go with Auntie Stephanie to Uncle Shane's house?" Alanna frowned.

"You won't die too, will you?" She asked him innocently. Her question sent a river of emotions through Randy that nearly caused him to break down in tears. He smiled at her.

"No, baby. I'll come back and get you. I promise."

"Okay. Uncle Shane's house is boring!" Stephanie smiled.

"Murphy will be there." Alanna's face then lit up.

"Really?"

"Aurora and Vaughn will be there, too." Alanna hopped out of her father's arms and grabbed Stephanie's hand. Stephanie smiled at Alanna and then looked at Randy. Randy gave her a gracious look as if silently saying Thank You before looking down at his daughter.

"Are you gonna be good for Uncle Shane?" he asked Alanna.

"I sure will, Daddy." Alanna responded. "Only if you promise to R-K-O people outta nowhere!" Randy laughed.

"You got it, Munchkin!" He hugged Alanna as tight as he could.

"Come on, Alanna." Stephanie said. "We're gonna go to Uncle Shane's now!"

"Yay!" Alanna said as she jumped for joy. She followed Stephanie outside the room and left Triple H and Randy in the room by themselves.

"Thanks for this, Randy." Triple H said to the taller man.

"I have to keep my little girl safe." Randy said. "If that means I have to pick up a gun again, then that's what I'm gonna do." Triple H nodded and hugged Randy.

"I know it. Go catch up with Linda and everyone else." Randy walked out of the room and Triple H was about to follow before he was stopped.

"Paul." It was Phil. He hung behind to get Triple H and Stephanie alone, though Stephanie had already left.

"When did you get here?" Triple H asked.

"I came in with the others. Still not noticing me?"

"What do you want, Punk?" Phil narrowed his eyes at the owner.

"It's Phil, and I want you to know that I'm with you guys on this whole Russian Mafia thing. Know this, though." Phil stood up from leaning on the wall and walked up to Triple H. "I'm going to take every fucking penny from Daddy Dearest for what he did to my wife."

"I wouldn't blame you one bit for doing that. Just wait until all of this is done." Phil balled his mouth up and nodded before patting Triple H on his shoulder and walking out to catch up with the rest of the group. Triple H took a deep breath and headed for the door but was startled by Roman Reigns as he jumped off of the stage and into his line of sight.

"Dammit!" Triple H cursed out loud. "What are you still doing in here?"

"Guarding you." Roman said. "Isn't that what you asked us to do?"

"Where are Colby and Jon?"

"Colby is trying to wake Jon up. He fell asleep during your speech." Triple H shook his head.

"You two." Triple H shouted at Seth and Dean. "We're leaving now."

* * *

"Flight Forty-Seven-A is now unloading. Flight Forty-Seven-A is now unloading." Moments later, people began to enter the airport waiting area. Lana emerged from within the crowd. She looked around and scanned her surroundings to make sure the men chasing her were nowhere in sight. She then heard a familiar voice in her head.

"Catherine." It said. "First floor, Section Twelve, third seat to the right. I'll be waiting." Lana blinked and then headed for the first floor of the airport. When she made it, she looked around and there sitting in the third seat of Section Twelve was AJ garbed in a black hoodie, dark blue jeans, and glasses. Lana walked casually over to the seat next to her and sat down.

"I have news." Lana said. "But first I want to sincerely apologize to you."

"I can't do shit with an apology, Catherine." AJ replied in an authoritative tone. "I've already forgiven you. I know your culture doesn't allow you to step outside of your father's wishes." Lana looked down at her feet. "Is Fedoseev dead?"

"Yes." Lana said hesitantly. "He is dead. He was killed. He left these for you." Lana pulled out the vials containing both the remaining serum used on AJ and the antidote for the chemical. AJ looked at them.

"What is in them?" Lana held up the vial containing the antidote.

"This is the antidote. Father said it is the failsafe he created in case something should go wrong with the chemical he injected you with." Lana then held up the vial containing the serum. "This is the rest of the serum. He did not tell Vince about these bottles because he fired us before we could. Before his death, my father instructed me to give them to you." AJ took the vials from Lana and looked at them before putting them in the pocket of her hoodie. "He said you would know what to do with them." Lana stood up and began walking away from AJ.

"Where are you going?" AJ asked her. Lana looked down without turning around.

"My job is done." Lana answered. "I have no more need here. I will go back to Russia and face my consequences." AJ stood to her feet and all but ran to Lana.

"They'll kill you there, Catherine."

"It is the price I will pay for aiding the destruction of your life, April." Lana continued to walk away from the smaller woman until she witnessed everyone and everything that moved in the airport come to a immediate halt. She looked around puzzled and turned around to see AJ staring right into her. "April?" AJ slowly cocked her head to her right.

"I don't blame you for this." AJ said. "You shouldn't you either. You were doing what your father told you and he has paid for his crimes. There is no reason you should suffer the same fate for being a good daughter. Those men will come for you and they will find you." AJ then reached her hand out. "I will protect you. Take my hand." Lana looked at AJ with tears in her eyes. She slowly walked up to AJ and took her hand. The moment she touched it, however, she felt her head pulse with a headache she had never before. She violently shut her eyes and the headache left her just as quickly as it came. She opened her eyes and immediately recognized her surroundings. Lana was sitting in the same seat she sat in on the plane she arrived in mere minutes before meeting AJ. She looked around and noticed that the passengers riding with her were the same people. The intercom then came on and the pilot spoke.

"The flight to Spokane is leaving in ten minutes." He said. "Please place all loose luggage in the shelves above your heads, turn off your cellular phones, and review the instruction manual in the back of the seat in front of you on proper flight etiquette. Thank you for your cooperation." Lana grew confused and then looked around to find AJ, but she was nowhere to be found on the plane. Lana stopped one of the stewardesses walking by her.

"Excuse me." Lana said. "Have you seen a small woman with black hair wearing a black hoodie and Chuck Taylors on this flight?" The stewardess shook her head.

"I'm afraid not." She said. "I'm sorry." She looked down at Lana's pocket. "Don't forget to turn your phone off." Lana looked at the woman confused about what she was talking about. She then felt her pocket and indeed there was a black phone with AJ's emblem on the case. She turned on the screen and noticed there was one multimedia message. Lana unlocked the home screen and began viewing the message. AJ had left the message for her.

"Catherine." AJ started in the message. "There have been a lot of things on my mind and now I have to make a very hard decision that will change who I am from the moment I make it. I need to clear my head so I can make a sound decision, so I'm disappearing. No one will be able to find me, contact me, or see me until I am ready. I will contact this phone directly when I've made my decision. Keep it. One more thing. Thank you for this, Catherine. For everything. Ever since I've known you you've kept to yourself but you took your time out to make sure I got what I needed today. Just know that I will always be watching out for you. Thank you again. I'll see you soon."


	17. A Natural

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. It took a long time for me to get the sequence together for this Chapter. What do you all think of Cesaro now!? :P**

The Superstars and Divas all rode on the plane Linda sent them on to fly to her training facility. Aside from sporadic small talk and idle banter, the group remained silent through most of the ride. Sheamus was still in disbelief after the meeting hours ago and his amount of energy showed it. It took him much discipline to keep from bouncing around on the plane.

"I can't believe this." Sheamus said aloud. "We gonna be shootin' people! I'm beside meself."

"We know, Steve." Dolph said with slight irritation. "You've only said it about eighty-one times now."

"Duncha realize that we're gonna be fightin' in a wee bitta days? This is somethin' ta get excited about!" Ryback, whom was sitting next to the red head, put his headphones into his ears and began playing his music as Sheaums and Dolph spoke to each other. Becky Lynch who sat behind the two men laughed hard as Sheamus made it his duty to express his excitement.

"You are a riot!" she said through her laughter. Seth Rollins buried his face in his hand and shook his head while he thanked forces unseen that Dean was not sitting next to him. Dean chose to sit next to Sami Zayn for one reason or another. Sasha Banks and Bayley sat in the seat behind Sheamus and Ryback. Through all the noise, Sasha managed to hear Bayley sniffle. She looked over and saw that she was in fact crying small tears.

"Pam?" Sasha said. "Are you alright?" Bayley wiped her glassy eyes.

"Sorry, Mercedes." She said. "I'm just worried about April." Sasha placed her hand on top of Bayley's.

"It's gonna be okay. She's fine."

"But she hasn't called or texted me in so long and now she's missing and it's like no one cares." Sasha hugged Bayley as tight as she could to console her. Phil who sat behind her and Sasha spoke up.

"It's not that we don't care." He said to her. "I'm worried shitless! It's just that we have this whole Russian Mafia thing to deal with. As worried as I am, I know April's alright. I'll get on her about not talking to you for so long, though. You and her were pretty close."

"Thank you, Phil." Bayley said. "I still wish I knew where she was." Phil nodded.

"Me too." Phil sighed. "I know she's alright, though." He then felt a large weight on his left shoulder. Wade Barrett, the one who claimed the seat beside him, had fallen asleep and unconsciously began to lean on Phil's shoulder. Phil turned to him and realized that he had begun to drool. He slapped Wade on his head as hard as he felt would wake him up. Wade snorted in pain and clutched his cranium.

"What the fuck man!" Wade harped making everyone turn to face the two men.

"Get your slobberin' ass off me!" Phil popped back. "If you wanna sleep, there's enough room for you to lay your seat back. No one's behind us!"

"I don't think Polly Pocket would appreciate you rubbin' up on her Ken doll, Stu Meat." Dean said to Wade who angered instantly. Sami Zayn looked at Dean in amazement.

"Stop calling me Stu Meat!" He yelled back at Dean. "I fucking hate that shit!"

"Just callin' em how I see 'em, Stu Meat. Nice how you didn't mention anything about getting frisky with Punk over there, though. Didn't know you wanted it in ya." Dean laughed as Wade screamed. Phil elbowed Wade in the side.

"My ears, man!" He harped before crossing his arms. Wade cursed under his breath, laid his seat back, and closed eyes to fall asleep. Sami looked over at Dean.

"Do you enjoy working so hard to annoy people?" He asked him.

"Being an annoying little shit is all a part of my mystique." Dean answered. "You deal with it or you deal with it. Either way, you deal with it." Sami shook his head. Dean then thought about something. "Yo Joe! Colby! What the hell are we doing on _this_ plane when the people who hired us to protect them are on a _different_ plane? Shouldn't we be with them?" Roman shrugged.

"We need to be here so we can go to the training." He said.

"Yeah." Seth Rollins added. "Besides, have you seen their plane? I'm surprised anyone fits in that thing."

"We're all going to the same damn place! What if their plane gets blown out of the air or somethin'?" Bray Wyatt, the man who sat behind Dean and Sami, spoke up next.

"They hired you, man." Bray said to Dean. "You didn't hire them. Let the McMahons do what they want to. If they still pay you I don't see what the big hoopla is."

"Dude." Dean said. "I'm just saying." John Cena, sitting in front of Dean and Sami, turned around in his seat.

"Jon." He said to Dean. "We've got another three hours on this plane. Can you try to keep yourself together?" Dean folded his arms and sat back in his seat.

"Super Cena and his new sidekick Cesaro Man are here to save the day, everyone." Dean said sarcastically before rolling his eyes. Cesaro closed the book he was reading and placed it in the back of the seat in front of him, removed his reading glasses and latched them on his shirt collar, and turned around to face Dean whom had a smirk on his face.

"Cesaro Man." Cesaro said simply before Dean quickly nodded in callous agreement.

"Yup." Cesaro narrowed his eyes at his younger co-worker then put on a smirk of his own.

"I like that." Dean raised his eyebrows.

"Don't tell me _you_ have a sense of humor, Stiff Stanley." Cesaro shook his head and laughed before turning back around.

"I know more about you, Jonathan, than you know about me." He said to Dean without facing him. Cesaro's comment made John glance over at him.

"Is that right?" Dean said to him. "What's that 'sposed to mean?"

"It means exactly what I said. You know the bare minimum about me. You don't even remember my name." Dean tapped his temple trying to remember Cesaro's real name.

"Sure I do." Dean said. "It's Claudio Cadenza." Cesaro shook his head.

"Yes Jonathan. My name is Claudio Cadenza."

"Ha! Got it!" Sami nudged Dean to get his attention.

"His last name is Castagnoli, man." He said to Dean.

"No it's not!" Sami looked at him with an expressionless face. Dean then realized his mistake. "Holy fuck. It is, isn't it?"

"Yup." Sami said. "His name is Claudio Castagnoli. Everybody knows that."

"Well, I didn't! I thought it was Cadenza like that weird half-assed luxury car Kia makes." Dean tapped on Cesaro's shoulder but he refused to turn around. "Hey Claudio. Sorry for mucking up your name." Cesaro simply nodded.

"It's fine, Jonathan." Cesaro told him. "Everyone messes it up the first time." Dean folded his arms decided to let Cesaro be by sitting back in his seat. Brie, sitting near the airplane door with Nikki in the outside seat, stared out of the window at the clouds that passed by; her mind was occupied by AJ and the promise she made to her. She was silently hoping AJ was alright. Nikki looked over and noticed her sister's distant expression.

"Brie?" she called out. "Are you alright?" Brie did not answer. Nikki tapped her on her shoulder and startled her. "Sorry, Brie. I was just making sure you're okay."

"I'm fine." Brie said after taking a deep breath. "I'm just worried about April. I hope she's okay."

* * *

Linda, Triple H, Dwayne, and Stephanie rode in a smaller plane out in front of the plane carrying all of the Superstars and Divas. Vince was in the plane also but was still tied up as requested by his ex-wife. All of them sat on the plane silent until Stephanie spoke up.

"I still can't believe all of this is happening." She said. "It's like a dream." Linda looked at her daughter.

"I would bet anything," she started. "…That we all feel the same way about this. You needn't worry, though." Linda then looked over at Vince. "Vince here is going to be paying these people what he owes. That way, the class we'll be giving will merely be informative and not used for training purposes." Vince's face showed more anger than imaginable.

"You can't tie me up like some damned runaway fugitive!" Vince shouted. Stephanie stood up and violently walked over to her father.

"You have no rights on this plane after what you put my family through!" Stephanie harped, her voice raspy from anger. "Once we've finished this and you've paid these people you're as good as dead to me!" Linda put her hand on Stephanie's arm.

"Dear." She said. "Please sit back down. It won't do you any good running your blood pressure through the roof messing with your father." Stephanie looked at Linda then back to Vince before ultimately deciding to sit back in her seat. Dwayne sat up and began to speak but Triple H cut him off.

"Rock…" Triple H started. "If you say anything about the size of the plane, I swear to God…" Dwayne put his hands up.

"Whoa, Paul." Dwayne said. "Relax. I was just gonna say Linda should just write out a check and force Vince to sign it. They won't know it's your account it's coming from." Linda sighed.

"That would have worked when I was married to Vince, Dwayne." She explained. "I would have had a Power of Attorney available to use. He has to pay this debt and only him." Dwayne looked at Vince with trying eyes.

"Well, ya gonna pay these people or am I gonna have to have Simone join the Marines?"

"Calm down, Dwayne." Linda's request seemed to infuriate him more.

"We shoulda let those Russians ice this piece of shit while they were there!"

"I made you, Rock!" Vince said with rage. "I can break you!" Dwayne walked up to him and slapped him so hard across the face that Vince was knocked unconscious. Dwayne then casually sat back down in his seat with Triple H, Stephanie, and Linda staring him down.

"I feel better now." He said simply.

"Thank you, Dwayne." Stephanie said graciously in reference to him knocking her father out. The plane then fell silent again for a few minutes before Dwayne broke the silence.

"This is a pretty small plane, though." Triple H slammed his hand on the arm rest.

"Dammit, Rock!"

* * *

Three and a half hours passed and the two planes of people finally landed at what looked like a massive air field with a gargantuan bunker. The Superstars and Divas looked around to see if they saw any other forms of life but to no avail. Linda walked up to the group of them and signaled for their attention which they gladly gave.

"This is where we are going to be spending the next seventy-two hours." Linda said. She then pointed to the bunker. "Inside there are your rooms as well as our training facility. You may take your things in there. I've taken the liberty of assigning your rooms for you so you won't have to worry yourselves with that." Linda walked past the group and toward the building. "I'll give you all an hour to recover from the minor jet lag before we start." Linda then turned around. "Stephanie. Come with me please." Triple H looked at her.

"What about me?" He asked her.

"You haven't gone through this training yet." Linda answered. "You'll have to do it just like everyone else." With that, Linda and Stephanie walked inside the building leaving everyone else outside. Paige eyed the building.

"This is crazy." She said before turning to Triple H. "Is your family-in-law former military or something?" Triple H rubbed his temple.

"Something like that." He said. Jey Uso looked at Triple H confused.

"I don't get it, though." Jey said. "You're family to them. You shouldn't have to do this stuff. You don't need it."

"Something tells me we're all gonna need it." Bray Wyatt said.

"Windham's right." Triple H agreed. "We all need to focus on making it through this crap alive."

"Do you two know what kind of things we're gonna be doing in there?" Nikki asked. Naomi turned to her.

"I'd like to assume we're gonna be shootin' shit up." Naomi said. "Who knows?" Cesaro looked over at Dean and manage to catch him at the end of a cringe.

"Can we just get this over with?" Dean said with a sound of irritation. "I hate waiting around for shit to happen when we can make it happen."

"Miss Linda told us to wait here." Bayley said. Dean rolled his eyes.

"Chill, Bubbles. I heard what she said. I'm saying we should just go in there and wait. I mean, I would love to stand out here and suck up some more sand but those Russian dudes ain't gonna be half-steppin' when they show up again." Dean turned and headed for the building.

"Jon." Roman called out. "Don't do it. She told us to wait."

"Fuck that!" Dean shouted as he continued towards the door. Sheamus began tapping his foot as he, too, thought about walking into the building. He decided to follow Dean.

"Come on man!" Ryback said. "Are you serious?"

"Jon's right, you guys!" Sheamus said. "We've gotta prep for this an we're sittin' out here burnin' up. I got a image to protect anyway. I'm going in!" Sheamus rushed to the door. Everyone else began contemplating whether or not to follow. Nikki decided to speak up.

"We all should go in." she said. Brie grabbed her arm.

"Nikki." Brie said. "Are you crazy? We can't go against Linda McMahon!" Nikki turned to face her sister.

"Brie. We're all here for the same reason. We're here to get ready for a Russian invasion! We need to get as much training as we can because none of us are soldiers no matter what our gimmicks on TV are. Every minute we spend out here is a minute we could be using to get ready." Brie backed off, mostly due to the shock she felt as she heard Nikki speak logic. Nikki then turned for the building and started walking towards it. Sasha began thinking to herself then decided to follow suit, much to the disdain of her friend Bayley.

"Mercedes!" Bayley shouted.

"I'm not waiting out here anymore." Sasha said as she continued walking. Bayley balled up her mouth in detest as everyone slowly began heading to the building. She finally followed suit and ran to catch up. When only John and Cesaro were left John began walking to follow the rest but stopped when he noticed Cesaro was not behind him. John looked back to see him still sitting on his bag in the place he dropped it almost twenty minutes after Linda went inside.

"Claudio." John called out as he went back for him. "What are you doing? Everyone's going inside."

"And you are following them?" Cesaro asked in response, sounding slightly upset. John gave him a confused look.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"She gave all of us instructions to stay out here for an hour. It has only twenty minutes and already all of you lost your patience." Cesaro stood to his feet to face John. "I can almost assure that neither of you even thought about her asking us to wait outside as being a part of the training. If you cannot follow orders, sit still, and hold a position then you might as well verbally tell our enemies we're waiting for them."

All John could do was blink at Cesaro, as he truly did not think that Linda could have been testing their ability to stay put and follow orders. Before John could say a word, he saw Cesaro look past him. He turned to see Linda McMahon walking towards them. When she caught up to the two men she looked at both of them.

"Why are you not inside?" Linda asked them.

"We were asked to wait here for an hour." Cesaro said with a stern face. His comment made Linda eye him for a brief moment before looking to John.

"You can go join the others." She told John. "I need to speak with him." John nodded and walked off. When he was out of hearing distance, Linda turned to Cesaro and smiled. "You know, I expected you all to come inside eventually. You opted to stay out here and wait." Linda walked around Cesaro as if she were examining him. "There is something unique about you that none of the others have. I see it in you." Linda then turned and headed back for the building. "You may come inside now. You passed the first test. Good job." Cesaro turned to head into the building with everyone else with Linda following behind.

Inside, the group talked amongst each other until they all heard Linda and Cesaro enter and turned to face the two. Linda walked with Cesaro around to the front of the group with Cesaro tearing away from her to stand in front with the rest of his peers. Linda looked around at all of them and smiled.

"Welcome to home for the rest of the week, ladies and gentlemen." She said to them. "I must admit. I truly expected to see more of you here. I thank all of you for staying and joining this cause. However, you all have quite a bit of work to do." Dwayne took immediate offense to Linda's comment.

"Everyone else may need 'work' here, Linda." He said to her. "Me and Rocky can skip the basics and get the advanced training." Linda was not amused. She narrowed her eyes.

"I gave you instructions to stay outside for an hour to gather your thoughts." Linda retorted. "Not only did you disobey me, you wasted precious time that could have been used to strategize amongst yourselves by infiltrating this building without knowing what you would be walking into. All of you could have been killed for all you knew. All of you…" Linda then looked to Cesaro. "…except one. Only one of you were able to decipher the meaning behind me asking you to stay outside. I did it to test your ability to hold a position. Now, we are a team so no matter how many of us make it…if even one of us fails then we all fail. I, personally, do not enjoy failing so I will make sure that doesn't happen again." Linda and Stephanie stepped down off of the small stage. "We have a lot of work to do."

* * *

Lana stepped out of the plane and walked down the hallway. The moment she stepped foot into the lobby of the airport she felt lost. She then heard a familiar voice ring in her head.

"Walk outside." The voice said. Lana recognized it as AJ's voice. "Someone is waiting for you." Lana listened to AJ and walked outside and sure enough someone was waiting for her in front of a red car. She looked closer and immediately knew who it was.

"Steve Austin?" Lana said. Steve Austin shook his head.

"I heard you needed to see Linda." He said. "I can take you to her. Get in." Lana blinked before nearly running to get in the back seat of the car. Steve shut her door and walked back around the car to get in the driver seat. The two drove away from the airport and off into the sun. Lana looked over at Steve.

"How do you know about me?" Lana asked. Steve sucked his teeth.

"Please." He said. "You're on television. How am I not supposed to know you?" Lana pursed her lips together.

"I guess you are right."

"Really, though. AJ came to me and told me where you needed to go and who you needed to see." Lana wondered how AJ was able to transport from Russia back to the United States. Knowing what she knew about what AJ was capable of she decided it was best not to question. However, one question did come to her.

"Did she say why I'm seeing Linda McMahon?" Lana asked Steve Austin.

"You don't know?" Steve replied. Lana shook her head.

"Honestly no. I have no clue what I'm doing. I was not briefed or anything. I just know that AJ wants me to see Linda and that was because you just told me."

"Well shit. I guess it has something to do with this whole Russian thing with the shooters and all. You're Russian right?"

"Technically. My family is all there."

"Maybe that's why you're going then." Lana then heard AJ's voice in her head once again.

"You got info." AJ said. "Tell Linda what you know and they'll look after you." Lana nodded and looked at Steve.

"How long will this trip be?"

"A couple hours."

"If you do not mind, I will be taking a nap."

"Knock yourself out." Lana removed her seat belt, laid down across the back seat, and quickly fell asleep. Steve looked at her briefly through the rear view mirror.

"What the hell did I sign up for?"

* * *

All of the Superstars and Divas were lined up in front of an open field of what looked like nothing but sand. Dean Ambrose, standing in the middle of the line, quickly grew impatient after roughly fifteen minutes of waiting.

"What the hell are we standing here in a line for like we're in kindergarten?" Dean asked. Seth sighed.

"Can't you just sit still for once?" He said to Dean. "Linda asked us to wait here. Don't forget how mad she was the last time we didn't stay put." Dean shrugged.

"Whatever man. I'm just tired of standing here not knowing what's going on!" Everyone then heard Linda McMahon's voice.

"This…" she started as she walked down the line. "…is a shooting range. On the table behind you will be sets of firearms. Stephanie will test your knowledge of the firearms and I will teach you what you don't know." Linda pointed to the five large white tables standing behind them. "Take your stations." Everyone did as they were told. Stephanie and Linda stood out in front of the tables.

"Alright, everyone." Stephanie started. "You need to assemble these guns. All of them."

"Put them together?" Sheamus harped. "Why not get guns that come made already?"

"You won't always get guns that are put together." Stephanie replied. "You need to know how to assemble them. All of you will get started on my mark." Stephanie waited a moment before yelling, "Now!" The team picked up their guns and began to attempt to assemble them. Linda witnessed all of them struggle with the task, everyone except Cesaro. He had successfully assembled all four of the firearms set in front of him and was standing at attention seemingly awaiting further instruction. Stephanie approached Cesaro.

"How did you finish so fast?" Stephanie asked him.

"I simply put them together as you asked, Miss Stephanie." Cesaro said without moving. Linda smiled at him before going back to scoping out the rest of the crew. Linda was able to point out who suffered the most. It was Brie Bella. The look she gave the metal pieces was a look of terror. She approached Brie.

"Are you alright?" Linda asked her. Brie immediately broke down in front of her.

"I can't do this!" Brie shouted. "No, no, no! I can't! I don't wanna go through this again!" Linda placed her hand on Brie's shoulder.

"Calm down, Brie." Linda said.

"No! I can't do this! I can't shoot a gun! I just can't." By that time everyone had their eyes on Brie and Linda. Nikki all but ran to her sister's side to try and calm her.

"Brie!" Nikki said. "It's okay. You can do this."

"No, Nikki!" Brie shouted. "I don't wanna hear those sounds again!" Brie began crying heavily. Linda made a decision.

"You aren't ready for this, Brianna." Linda said. "I can't put you through this when you have such deeply seeded hoplophobia." Linda then felt someone pass by her. She looked to see Cesaro standing in front of Brie.

"Get back to your station, Claudio." Linda demanded. Her demand fell on deaf ears, however.

"Brianna." Cesaro said to Brie. "Look at me. Do not panic. The first thing attackers will look for is weakness. You are not weak. You are strong." Cesaro placed Brie's hands on the metal pieces of the guns. "These will only do what you allow them to. You have control. You can put them together and show yourself how strong you truly are." Brie's breathing began to calm as Cesaro slowly moved their hands from one part of the guns to the other. "This piece is the handle. It locks on to this one here. This part is called the barrel." He then moved her hands over all the pieces and explained to Brie what they were. Everyone watched as Cesaro worked through Brie's fear and helped put her guns together. Brie then stared at the finished products with a sense of pride. She smiled weakly and looked at Cesaro.

"Thank you, Claudio." Brie said to him. "You have no idea what you did for me just now." Cesaro raised his hand.

"You aren't done yet." He told her. "You will not have assistance out there with this." Cesaro then expertly pulled all the guns apart and laid the parts back on the table in a different order from where they originated. "To overcome your fear, you will need to defeat it yourself. Put these guns back together just like I showed you." Brie looked down at the parts in fear. She then heard Dolph encourage her.

"You can do it, Brie!" he yelled. Brie looked into Cesaro's eyes then back down and took a deep breath. She picked up the handle of the pistol and attached it to the barrel. She then slowly slid the recoil spring into the barrel and locked the top of the barrel onto the rest of the gun. Brie placed the completed gun onto the table and looked at it.

"I can do this." She told herself as began to assemble her rifle. Her pace quickened as her confidence grew. When she finished, Brie looked down at the firearms and took a deep breath before smiling and looking back up at Cesaro.

"Good job, Brianna." Cesaro said before walking back to his station. Everyone looked at him in disbelief. Stephanie looked around and noticed everyone had assembled their firearms.

_"I honestly didn't think it would be this easy today."_ She said to herself. She then thought of something else. _"All of them can put guns together? What kind of people did we hire?"_ Stephanie heard her mother speak.

"That went better than we expected it to, I must say." Linda said before clapping her hands together. "All of you come with me." Linda led all of them inside the building to what looked like a ring used for fighting. Phil knew exactly what it was and smirked. Randy noticed him.

"What the hell are you smiling at?" he asked Phil.

"You'll see." Was all Phil said. Linda stepped inside the ring and began to speak.

"I'm sure a few of you know what this is." Linda said. "In here, I will be watching your hand-to-hand and maneuvering capabilities. Should you be disarmed you will need to know how to defend yourself and deflect any attacks that may come to you. I'll put you all in pairs." Bayley raised her hand to catch Linda's attention. "Yes, Pamela?"

"There are only eight of us girls, nine if you count Miss Stephanie." Bayley said. Linda blinked.

"Do you believe the attackers will care if you are a woman?" Linda asked. Bayley fell silent. "Your gender does not matter to them and it doesn't matter to me. I will pair you with who I feel will challenge you, and I already have those pairings in mind." Linda looked to Ryback then to Tyson Kidd. "Ryan. Theodore. You two are first. Step inside." Ryback and Tyson did as Linda asked them. "The objective here is to use your hand-to-hand skills, if any, to knock your opponent outside of the red circle." Tyson looked at Linda with concern.

"Are there any other rules?" he asked.

"Yes. No outside assistance is allowed, and don't kill your opponent." Linda stepped off of the platform. "Begin."

Tyson and Ryback exchanged looks then fell into defensive stances. Tyson had no idea what he would do to maneuver Ryback out of bounds but he knew he had to act quick as all Ryback had to do was push him out. Tyson began thinking to himself.

_"Alright."_ Tyson thought to himself. _"Ryan's bigger than me, so that makes me quicker. If I can run around him and get him to trip up, then I can push him out with all my body weight. Too easy!"_ Tyson smirked, and Natalya noticed. She knew that smirk meant that Tyson had put together a fool-prone plan. Natalya knew whatever his plan was would backfire on him but she was forbidden to help him. Tyson prepared himself to run directly at Ryback while anticipating him to step to his side. Tyson planned on forcing Ryback to side step him and when he did, Tyson planned to trip his feet from under him. According to Tyson, no matter which side Ryback stepped to, if his legs were taken from under him he would fall past the red line. However, Ryback did not move. In fact, he stood still as Tyson charged at him. Tyson tried to keep from running into Ryback but couldn't. Ryback grabbed him before they collided, effortlessly picked Tyson up by his shoulders and carefully placed him on his feet outside of the red circle.

"What the hell, man?" Tyson shouted. Ryback simply shrugged, and all Linda could do was shake her head.

"Good job, Ryan." She said before looking at Tyson. "You had best leave the strategizing to your wife, Tyson. Know your strengths and weaknesses then improve. Come down." Tyson huffed and stepped down with Ryback. As he walked past Cesaro, he felt a hand stop him.

"Patience." He heard Cesaro say to him. "Ryan read you in bold print. So did I." Tyson narrowed his eyes.

"What?" Cesaro moved his hand to let Tyson walk past him. Tyson shook his head and joined his wife Natalya's side. She immediately rubbed his back. Linda stepped into the circle to speak again.

"Next." Linda said. "Phillip. Natalie." Phil narrowed his eyes.

"What?" He said. "You're making me fight a woman?"

"Again, I don't care about gender and neither do our enemies." Phil shook his head and walked into the circle followed by Natalya. "You both know the rules. Make it a little more interesting than the last bout. Begin." Phil fell into a defensive Jujitsu stance. He was surprised by Natalya, however, as she took on a offensive stance.

"Savate, huh?" Phil said with a smile. "Pretty cool." Natalya grinned.

"Not shocked are you?" she asked him.

"Nah. I'm actually glad. It means we're gonna enjoy this." Natalya blinked then skillfully charged at Phil. He dodged her, as she expected him to. She stopped herself, spun around, and connected with a kick to Phil's head. Phil staggered as he did not expect the kick to hit him. He fell back into his stance as Natalya stared at him.

"I knew you'd be fun." Phil said playfully as he ran at Natalya. Phil threw a punch at her, but Natalya dodged it and anticipated a knee. She blocked the knee but got hit with an elbow to her side. Phil pushed her in an attempt to force her out of the circle, but Natalya was able to stop herself. She then felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Phil standing in front of her with his hand out to her.

"I'm no asshole." He said to her. "Come on." Natalya blinked then took his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet. Phil nodded and backed back into his stance as Natalya fell into hers. Natalya charged at Phil again, this time throwing a flurry of kicks at him. Phil had almost been overwhelmed but saw an opening. Natalya had halted her kick barrage to reform her stance and Phil capitalized on the brief opportunity by tripping Natalya up. The loss of balance threw her just outside of the circle. When she realized she had lost, she fell to her knees. Linda was pleased with the show of skill from both Phil and Natalya.

"Very good job, both of you." Linda said. "You may come down." Natalya stood up and took a deep breath. Phil walked up to her.

"You're pretty damned awesome, Nattie." He said to her. "You should think about getting into MMA. You'd do great." Natalya brought herself to smile at the compliment.

"Thanks, Phil." She replied. "I'm fine right where I am, though." Phil shrugged with a smile and the two walked off the platform. Linda walked up and announced the next two fighters.

"John. Claudio." John's stomach turned. He feared Linda would pair him with Cesaro when she saw them together. He looked over at Cesaro only to find him not standing where he was. Instead, Cesaro was already standing inside the red circle waiting for John to join him. John reluctantly walked into the circle. Down below them, Paige nudged Sheamus to get his attention.

"You know those two are a thing, right?" Paige said to Sheamus. Sheamus's eyes widened.

"Ya jokin!" he said.

"Nope." Sheamus looked at the two men up on the platform and nodded.

"I can see it now. I was wonderin' why they were so much fun to watch in the ring." In the circle, John eyed Cesaro with pause.

"I hate I have to do this, Claudio." John said to Cesaro before putting his hands up. Cesaro narrowed his eyes.

"Think nothing of it, Cena." Cesaro replied as he relaxed his body. He then inhaled and placed his left foot in front of his right, pointing the left towards John and the right approximately forty-five degrees away from him. He then pulled his left hand into his mid section with the palm facing down. When Cesaro exhaled, he then lifted his right hand to his side with the palm facing up. Down below, Phil eyed Cesaro with excitement.

"No fucking way." Phil said. Sami, the man standing next to him, looked over at Phil.

"What is Claudio doing?" Sami asked him. "He looks like he's just standing there."

"He's waiting for John to move."

In the circle, John looked at Cesaro confused as to what he was doing.

"I know you don't wanna fight me," John started. "But Linda asked us to do this so let's go ahead and get it done." Cesaro's hardened expression did not change.

"I will allow you the first strike, Cena." Cesaro said to him, his comment visibly stinging John's pride slightly.

"Oh yeah?" John said. "Well, just remember that you asked for this." John quickly made his way to Cesaro and swung with a right straight punch, but Cesaro dodged it just quicker than he threw it. When John drew his hand back it appeared that Cesaro had not moved at all. John looked at Cesaro and saw him staring right into his eyes as if enticing him to swing again. John gave in and swung at Cesaro with a heavy left hook. Cesaro ducked under the swing and lifted his arm just enough to entwine John's arm with his and grab John's hand in what looked like one swift movement, the technique bringing John down to bended knee facing away from Cesaro. John winced in pain as his arm contorted. However, he was briefly drawn away from the pain as he was able to catch a brief view of Cesaro's backside. John then felt the grip on his arm loosen and he immediately rose back to his feet. He looked at Cesaro and noticed him put on a small smirk. John then realized Cesaro was playing with him.

"Don't play with me, Claudio." John said sternly. The smirk left Cesaro's face as it fell back into its emotionless gaze. John became angry and ran at Cesaro to attempt a clothesline. Just like before, however, his attack was countered as his extended arm was locked in position by two carefully placed palms from Cesaro. Cesaro knelt down and locked John's arm over his knee forcing him to kneel with him. John grimaced.

"Remove your emotions from the battlefield, John Cena." Cesaro started. "If you don't then your opponent will not take you seriously and you will lose." Cesaro felt John yank his arm away and he released his hold so John would not harm himself doing so. Cesaro stood up quickly and fell back into his stance. John swung his arm trying to shake off the pain in it, took a deep breath, and cleared his head before advancing on Cesaro once again. John went for another right straight punch as Cesaro had anticipated. However, it was quicker and more powerful than the first. Cesaro was able to catch John's arm, however it was not before John's fist connected with Cesaro's mouth. John felt Cesaro's lips pressed harshly against his fist and saw that he had in fact drawn blood from Cesaro's face. The Swiss man's sienna colored eyes were fixed on John. In a flash, Cesaro shifted his weight and caused John to stumble. John regained his footing and watched as Cesaro withdrew his previous defensive stance and took on a more aggressive forward stance.

"Very good, John Cena." Cesaro said to John, blood still slowly falling from his slightly swollen lip. John did not speak. Instead, he advanced on Cesaro and attacked him with what would have been a body shot had Cesaro not adeptly step to his side. Cesaro chopped John in his back and backhanded him in the face, causing him to fall on his back. John rolled backwards and back onto his feet to meet a kick to the face. John staggered briefly before throwing a barrage of punches at Cesaro. The man dodged each one with frightening ease and capitalized on an opening in John's attack by forcefully jamming his palm into his mid section with so much power that John was pushed back to the other end of the circle. John clutched his stomach in pain as his breath quickened from the energy he used by attacking Cesaro. He regained his stance and ran for Cesaro again. John prepared to hit Cesaro with a body shot and Cesaro prepared to counter it, however John had expected the counter and quickly clotheslined Cesaro, or so he thought. Cesaro was quick enough to see through the attack, lock John's arm, and slam him to the ground with a heavy thud. Cesaro attempted to stomp on him, but John was able to catch Cesaro's leg and slam him to the ground. Cesaro sucked air in through his teeth as pain from the impact shot through his spine. John stood over him for a moment before offering his hand to Cesaro.

"Come on, Claudio." John said. Cesaro simply shut his eyes and took John's hand. Instead of allowing him to help him up, however, Cesaro used John's own body weight as momentum and slid underneath him. The maneuver caused John to fall over onto his back and out of the circle, making Cesaro the winner of their bout. Applause from the other Superstars and Divas filled the area as they had been impressed by yet another meeting between John Cena and Antonio Cesaro. When John looked up at Cesaro, he appeared to not have even broken a sweat.

"Fantastic, you two." They heard Linda say. Cesaro knelt down beside John and looked into his eyes.

"If you cannot best your emotions," Cesaro said. "Then you will lose every time." He stood back to his feet and walked off the platform, leaving John to feel guilty about underestimating Cesaro's ability and letting his feelings for him take precedence. John shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Dammit." He cursed to himself.


	18. Haunting My Thoughts

A man sat in a large office chair staring out of his window at the beautiful sunrise. The vibrant colors seemed to calm him as they brightened. His trance was halted by someone walking into his office.

"Have you slept yet?" The woman asked in Russian. The man known as Viel Raudoniene turned around in his chair to face the woman who was his most trusted guard. Her name was Zivile Raudoniene. The woman was also his sister and the woman formerly known in the WWE as Aksana.

"I have not." Viel answered in his native tongue. Aksana eyed him with concern.

"Might I ask why?"

"I did not want to sleep."

"What is bothering you?"

"I still cannot believe the nerve of that failure Vincent McMahon. Americans have no knowledge of integrity." Zivile chuckled, making Viel angry. "Why do you laugh?"

"Was it not you who killed Pappa because he did not pay you to do his work for him all of those years?" She asked him.

"That was a business affair."

"So is this one." Aksana sat down on Viel's desk. "My point is you cannot expect full integrity from anyone when money is involved. We are doing right by attacking this head on. I must ask you, Brother. Why are we waiting for this? For all we know they could be gathering up fire power to combat against us forcefully." Viel smiled.

"I am aware of that." He said to his sister. "In fact, I expect it as I know Vince McMahon has not a trusting bone in his body. Why Pappa trusted him with our money, I will never know."

"What will we do about it?" Aksana asked.

"They have their people and we have ours. While we have the American forces distracted with piecing together the little stunt we had our mercenaries pulled in that city, we will be able to focus all of our power on the travesty that is the McMahon Family and their little multicultural slaves."

"What of April Mendez? How will we find her?" Viel placed his hand on his sister's knee.

"We will let her come to us." He said.

"I believe we should find her ourselves." Aksana told Viel. "She has Fedoseev's serum in her blood. If she-" Viel stopped Aksana before she could finish.

"Zivile." He started. "We have more pressing issues than worrying about a woman injected with an artificial steroid. We need to prove to those Americans that they should not take from us." Viel then leaned in. "I know you want that more than you want to search for that girl. You want those McMahons to pay for stealing your dream from you." Aksana knew what Viel was referring to, and the burning thoughts of being fired from the WWE came back to her.

"You are right." Aksana said. "I need my revenge. I don't want to wait any longer! Let us make our move, Brother!" Viel laughed.

"Patience, Zivile." He said. "You will be able to get to them in due time." Viel stood to his feet. "It is time for breakfast."

* * *

For the Superstars and Divas being trained by Linda and Stephanie McMahon in the art of warfare, a long day had just ended. Everyone exhaustedly began to retire to their designated rooms. At the end of the long metal hallway, Linda stood watching everyone as they all stepped into their rooms. When no one was in sight she retired into her own room behind her where Stephanie and Vince, sleeping and still restrained by the ropes Dwayne tied him in, waited for her. Linda looked over at Stephanie.

"Have you called Shane yet?" she asked her.

"I did." Stephanie replied. "He told me all the children were fine and that they were sleeping."

"Good." Linda sat down in the chair closest to Stephanie. "I'm going to have to make that call first thing tomorrow morning."

"Are you going to okay with that?" Stephanie asked her mother.

"I'll have to be. I feel we are going to need help with this. Who better to help us than the military?" Stephanie nodded and placed her hand on her mother's shoulder.

"Are you going to be alright in here with him?" She asked. Linda chuckled.

"I made sure Dwayne tied the ropes tight." Linda said. "When I wheel him to the holding chamber, he isn't going anywhere." Stephanie kissed her mother on the cheek.

"I'll see you in the morning." She said. "Get some rest, okay?"

"Good night, Stephanie." Linda replied. Stephanie smiled and walked out of her mother's room to go to her own. Linda then got an idea. "Stephanie!?" Stephanie had not gotten far enough not to hear her. She turned around to see what her mother needed.

"Yes Ma'am?" She replied.

"I'll let you wheel your father to the chamber." Linda said. "I know how much you've wanted to do it." Stephanie smiled, grabbed the handles on the seat Vince was tied to, and proceeded to roll him out of the room and down the hallway to the holding chamber. Linda closed and locked her door and sat down on her bed.

"Vince." She said aloud. "You're going to be the death of me just like I predicted."

Silence swept the confines of the hallway. After nearly an hour of silence, however, someone unlocked their room door. Brie Bella emerged from out of the open room and walked down the hallway until she came to the room with Cesaro's name on it. She knocked three times before she heard footsteps from inside the room. The door opened and Brie was greeted with Cesaro's earth colored eyes.

"Yes, Brianna?" Cesaro said.

"May I come in?" Brie asked him. Cesaro blinked before stepping aside and letting Brie in. He closed the door behind her and walked over to his bed where Brie had taken a seat.

"What are you still doing awake?" Cesaro asked Brie.

"I just…" Brie started. "I wanted to thank you for today. You don't know what you did for me out there."

"Think nothing of it." Cesaro said to her. "You needed help. I gave it to you."

"It's deeper than that, Claudio. It was a childhood thing. I've always been afraid of guns, and what happened last month at that bistro made it worse. I couldn't hear any sounds of guns or loud bangs without flipping out and today was no different. You came over and talked me out of my fears and I felt like I could face them. When I held that pistol in my hand I wasn't afraid of it. I wasn't afraid of anything. I felt like I could conquer it all, and you helped me get that confidence. I don't think I can thank you enough, but…" Brie reached out and hugged Cesaro as tight as she could. "Thank you so much, Claudio." Cesaro gently returned the gesture.

"I'm honored to have helped you with your fears." Cesaro said to Brie. Brie released him and stood up from her place on the bed.

"I just wanted to tell you that." Brie said to Cesaro. "I'll let you sleep." Brie then leaned over and kissed him gently on the cheek. "Good night, Claudio." Brie walked out and closed the door but did not close it all the way. Cesaro sat on the bed staring at the floor. He still felt the kiss Brie left on his face. He smiled briefly then sat on the floor and began to meditate.

In the hallway, Brie had gone back to her room and closed the door. Almost immediately afterwards, John Cena stepped out of his room. He slowly walked down the hallway to Cesaro's room. He noticed his door was cracked open and slowly opened it to reveal Cesaro sitting in the floor in a full split position with his eyes closed seemingly meditating. John had never seen him in such a pose and it began to arouse him, though he quickly brushed those feelings away and quietly stepped inside the room, closing the door behind him. Somehow, though, Cesaro still heard him.

"Is everyone still awake?" He asked. John tensed up but relaxed after realizing there was no more reason to creep around the room.

"Sorry, Claudio." John replied. "I just had to talk to you after how the training went today." Cesaro closed his legs and stood to his feet to face John.

"We still have a lot to learn." Cesaro said to John. John's facial expression showed that he disagreed.

"Yeah _we_ have a lot to learn. You seem to already know this stuff and plenty more."

"Why do you say that?" John gave Cesaro a tiresome look.

"You can match strategy with Linda McMahon who is one of the strongest strategists known to us, you negotiate and coach like a pro, you put together firearms with ease, and you clearly know kung-fu because you kicked my ass without breaking a sweat. I want to know how because I'm pretty strong and you tossed me around." Cesaro sighed.

"Strength does not translate into skill, John." He said.

"Is that one of your Kung-fu lessons?" John replied, offending Cesaro with his description of his knowledge of Martial Arts.

"It is T'ai chi ch'uan, John." Cesaro said to John. John furrowed his brow.

"What?"

"T'ai chi ch'uan is the Chinese art that emphasizes patience, peace, and a balance between strength and grace when met with brute force. You used your Boxing skills with heavy conviction and a great amount of force. I merely used your energy and emotions against you. There was no effort from me. You defeated yourself." John looked into Cesaro's eyes and sighed. He sat down on the bed.

"My emotions get in the way a lot in my life." John said. "It's just who I am." Cesaro sat down next to John.

"There will be times where you will have to fight battles with people to whom you mean no harm." Cesaro explained. "If you do not detach your emotions then you'll always be beaten not by your opponent but by yourself." John folded his arms.

"You know," he started. "You sure know a lot about life for you not to have had much of one when you were younger."

"I had a life, John." Cesaro replied. "I had a life that taught me what I know now." John blinked a few times as he stared into Cesaro's hypnotizing gaze.

"What do you know, Claudio Castagnoli?" John asked Cesaro.

"I know how to live." Cesaro said simply. Then, to the surprise of John, Cesaro shut his eyes and sighed. "Still, I do have a lot to learn about myself and life in general." John placed his hand on Cesaro's thigh.

"Well," he started. "I can teach you anything you want if you teach me how to do kung-fu." Cesaro looked back at John.

"The first and most important thing I can teach you is to respect the art. It is not Kung-Fu. It is T'ai chi ch'uan…Supreme Ultimate Fist." John looked down at his feet.

"Sorry." John paused briefly before speaking again. "You know, I feel like I don't know anything about you other than your name and your birthday, Claudio." Cesaro looked back down.

"That is because you _don't_ know anything about me other than my name and my birthday." He said. "My past is something I don't readily think about." John looked at Cesaro with a confused face.

"Why?"

"Please do not press, John."

"I can't help it, Claudio. I want you to open up to me."

"I'm not ready for that yet. I literally just realized that your feelings for me are mutual. I have never done this before so please give me time." John felt guilt course over him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to prod." Cesaro gripped John's thigh causing John to inhale sharply.

"It's okay." Cesaro said to him. "Just please be patient. What we are starting is all foreign to me." John nodded. "Well, Cena. You had better get some rest. We have an early day tomorrow morning."

"You're right." John agreed. He looked at Cesaro and noticed him looking down at his feet as he nodded in agreement with John's comment about the time. Before his mind could assess what his body was doing, John had placed Cesaro's soft lips onto his own engaging in a passionate kiss. He slowly released Cesaro and looked into his eyes. "Good night." John smiled. Cesaro, however, stared at John with his mouth hung slightly open with nothing to say. John quickly stood up and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him and leaving Cesaro to himself. In the hallway, John leaned on the door and hit himself over the head.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" John cursed himself. He then heard a female's voice call out to him.

"John?" It was Nikki Bella. John stood up straight.

"Nikki." He said. "What are you doing up?" Nikki furrowed her brow.

"It's only ten-o-two, John. I'm not tired yet. I just got up to use the bathroom." Nikki then noticed where John was standing. "Why are you standing at Claudio's door? Are you waiting for him?" John rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, actually." John said, lying to Nikki. "I need a towel and he said he'd give me one of his." Nikki narrowed her eyes.

"How long have you been standing there?" She asked. "I can give you a towel." As soon as she offered, Cesaro opened his door and handed John a brown towel. John looked at Cesaro in an attempt to figure out how he heard him and Nikki's conversation, but only received an alluring smile in return.

"Sorry it took so long." Cesaro said to John. "I had to find a clean one. I didn't do my laundry before we came here." Cesaro winked at John before looking over to see Nikki. He smiled at her. "Hello Nicole." Nikki nearly blushed as Cesaro's accent and inherent charm worked its magic on her also.

"Hi Claudio." Nikki said to the Swiss man. Cesaro nodded and turned to go back in his room.

"Thanks for the towel." John said.

"Don't mention it." Cesaro replied before going back inside his room and closing the door. The air was filled with an awkward silence until Nikki spoke.

"Okay." Nikki started. "I'll say it. Claudio Castagnoli is outstanding!" John smiled.

"Yeah." He agreed. "He's a good guy."

"He really is-" Before Nikki could finish, a loud siren went off in the building. In fearful reflex, John and Nikki fell to the floor and covered their heads. The other Superstars and Divas quickly stepped out of their rooms to see what was going on. John and Nikki slowly stood up as the hallway filled.

"What the hell, man?" Paige snapped as she covered her ears. "What the fuck is this shit!?"

"We don't know!" John shouted. They all heard Linda speak behind them.

"It is the security alarm!" Linda shouted as she quickly walked past all of them. "It means someone is at the compound!" Everyone eyed her as she walked to the number pad and typed in the security code so the alarm would turn off much to the pleasure of everyone's ears. Linda pressed a button and spoke.

"Verification please." She said.

"It's Steve, Linda!" the person shouted on the other end of the communicator. "Open the door." Linda turned on the camera and looked through the screen to see Steve Austin standing with his arms folded at the massive gate with a woman behind him. Linda did not recognize her.

"Who is that with you, Steve?" Linda asked.

"It's that Lana girl." John, Randy, Cesaro, and Zack all tensed up as soon as they heard the name Lana. "AJ sent her here to talk to you." Upon hearing of AJ, Linda opened the gate and let the two in. Lana received several cold stares from the Superstars and Divas as they all knew she was involved with what had happened at the bistro. Zack, however, noticed that she did not have the same smug demeanor she had before. He saw fear and depression in her unusually emotional face as Steve, Linda, and she walked past all of them. When the three walked into the office and Linda closed the door after being joined by Triple H and Stephanie, the chatter amongst the Superstars and Divas began.

"Dude, that was Stone Cold!" Dean said with childlike glee. "Stone Cold's here! That's fucking awesome!"

"Did you hear him say AJ sent Catherine here?" Bayley asked. "That means AJ's okay!"

"Yeah." Bray Wyatt started. "Why send her, though? Why didn't she send info with someone she knows like, I don't know, her husband Phil or her best friend Celeste?"

"Who cares! As long as she's okay! That's all that matters." As everyone went back and forth about the well-being of AJ and Steve Austin showing up with Lana at the camp, Phil hung his head to the floor. Wade Barrett was standing next to him and noticed his mood.

"Hey Phil." Wade called out. "You alright?" Phil waited briefly before answering.

"I'm going back to bed." He said to Wade before walking back to his room without anyone else noticing, closing the door behind him.

In the office, Steve Austin was telling Linda, Triple H, and Stephanie about when AJ contacted him.

"She called you?" Triple H asked skeptically. Steve nodded.

"She called from a private number. Normally I don't answer blocked numbers but something told me to pick the phone up. She didn't even say hello or tell me who gave her my number. She just said 'Pick Lana up from the airport I'm about to send you the info for and bring her here' and that was it. Didn't let me get a word in." Steve Austin then looked back at the door. "What the hell is going on here, by the way? Got a boot camp show you're trying to get started?" Linda shook her head.

"No, Steve." She replied. "This is an actual training camp. We are training for-" Before Linda could finish, Lana raised her hand to speak.

"If I may," Lana began. "Allow me to explain it to him." Linda nodded.

"Before you do," she said. "Tell us why we should trust you after your work with my tyrant of an ex-husband." Lana immediately felt guilt.

"I would like to apologize for that, although I know that will not do anything to right my wrongs. My father was the scientist Vince McMahon hired to make the drug that April was injected with. In exchange for funding, my father offered my services as a spy for the company. Vince hired me to be a valet in the WWE so that I could spectate and give him information on those I felt would be best suited to test the drug on. After learning about so many of the men and women working for you, I decided that I would not choose any of them because I did not want to mix their lives up with this. In lieu of one of them, I offered myself for experimentation. My father, however, would not allow it, and because of my decision not to choose Vince got upset with me and ended up choosing April himself. She began having severe side effects to the drug that Vince could not cover up so he blamed my father and fired both of us. My father hired people to take your family out, including Vince McMahon. They failed, obviously, and my father had strong words for them that they take too kind to so they came for us. They killed my father but I was able to escape. I contacted April to let her know where I was and she came for me. She saved me. April put me on a different plane and told me to meet with Steve Austin and come here for protection against the same people Vince owes money to and the same people for whom you are all training to fight against."

The room was floored by Lana's story. Deciding she had been through enough, Linda sat down next to Lana to console her.

"Your honesty is commendable." She said to Lana. "I have one question. Why did you do everything your father asked of you even though you knew it was wrong?" Steve spoke up for Lana.

"I'm assuming she's actually Russian." He said. "If so, then it's a big no-no for a daughter to disobey or go against her old man. It's a respect thing, and Russians are all over that respect thing." He looked to Lana. "Right or wrong?" Lana reluctantly nodded.

"I cannot apologize enough for what I have done." She said. "I feel I am partly responsible for everything that has happened to April, to Daniel, and to everyone else here. The looks they all gave me hurt deeply, but I deserved them for not standing up for myself and fighting against what I knew was wrong." Linda placed her hand over Lana's.

"Listen to me." Linda said to her. "I understand that it's your culture that has your programmed to obey your father, but what he did to you was the worst thing a father could ever do to his daughter. He used your love and respect for him against your will. He sold you to that damned ex-husband of mine and used you to get what he wanted. You have nothing to apologize for. He did wrong." Linda pulled Lana into an embrace, her warmth causing Lana to cry into her shoulder. Triple H turned to Steve.

"How did you know where to find us?" He asked him. Steve shrugged.

"You act like I'm not a family favorite." Steve replied. "Vince and Linda showed me the building when they bought it a bunch of years ago. I just didn't know what they were using it for because I've never been inside until tonight." Stephanie thought of a question.

"Catherine." She said to Lana, making her look up at her. "You said April saved you. You've seen her?"

"I saw her only after I got off of my plane back to New York the other day. I do not know where she is now." Stephanie cursed to herself. Steve dropped his arms to his sides.

"What the hell did Vince do that has you in Military Mode, Linda?" Steve asked. Triple H chimed in.

"He told the Russians he owes money to that he's not paying them and now they're coming after us." He told Steve.

"Fuck, I'll pay 'em. How much?"

"They'll only accept payment from him." Linda told him. "No one else."

"Shit. So in other words you all are going to war with Russia?"

"To put it in a smaller scope, yes."

"Does the Prez know about this?"

"He will be informed in the morning. He will most likely be preoccupied with the terrorist shooting that happened days ago." Steve balled his mouth up.

"Need more help?" he asked.

"We need all the help we can get." Stephanie said.

"Well, you can count me in. I've been hunting deer for a long time now. It can't be any harder than that." Linda looked at Steve with concerned eyes.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked him.

"Vince fucked up and you're in trouble now because of it. After all the shit from me you put up with, of course I'm sure. Besides, I've got nothing better to do. Where is the old jack off anyway?"

"I locked him in the holding chamber." Stephanie said proudly. "He's tied to a chair so he can't get out even if the room allowed it." Steve Austin raised his eyebrows.

"Daddy's Little Girl, my ass!" He said.

In his room, Phil was sitting on his bed with his fists clenched to the point where his nails were on the verge of drawing blood from his palms. His mind had once again filled with thoughts of his missing wife, AJ. He wondered where she was. He worried about her safety. He longed so much for her that began to cause pain. What lingered frequently on his mind was the feeling that she chose to confide in everyone except for him. I knew nothing of what was going on with AJ aside from what he saw. The feeling began to eat away at him emotionally like a terminal illness destined to remove him from the realm of the living.

"Why didn't she tell me anything?" Phil asked no one in particular. "I'm her fucking husband! She's supposed to trust me with all of her troubles." He looked up to the ceiling and shouted, "I coulda helped you fix this, April!" His eyes began to moisten with subtle tears as he hung his head back down to the floor. He slammed his fist on the floor several times before allowing his tears to fall.

"I'm so sorry." Phil heard a familiar voice say to him. His reddened eyes widened.

"A-April?" he said through his broken breaths. He looked around his room for AJ but he could not see her. "Where are you?"

"I didn't tell you anything…" He heard AJ say, and it was then when he realized that AJ was talking to him in his mind. "…Because I didn't want you to worry like this. I was wrong for thinking you wouldn't worry about me, Phil, and I'm sorry. I want you to know that I love you and I will always love you." Phil began feeling terrified as AJ sounded as if she were talking to him for the last time.

"April." Phil said softly. "What are you saying that for?"

"Because I feel like I haven't said it in so long….too long. Don't lose faith in me. I'm coming back, Phil. I promise." Phil blinked at AJ's promise.

"April." Phil called out, only this time AJ did not answer. Her voice in his head fell silent. "April?" The man fell into a state of terror as he began shaking. "Nooooo!"

* * *

Trees and bushes with moistened leaves filled the area. The ground was saturated with water so much so that the dead leaves and tree debris seemed to float in it. The air was humid and serene as the various creatures of the rain forest sung their songs of life and death. There was one creature, however, that was silent. The creature was a white tiger crouching behind the tallest bushes seemingly stalking prey. It drew in closer to its target with unmatched stealth. The moment it was close enough, the tiger began running. However, it stopped abruptly and bared its teeth. The tiger's supposed prey was not another animal but a human with their back turned to the tiger. They were garbed in a piercing white outfit with a hood pulled over their head. The person short in stature, though their figure was hidden underneath the cloaked outfit. Without turning around, the person stuck their right hand out. The massive sleeve of the cloak slid up to reveal a small glimpse of what looked like a collection of plastic armbands intricately laced into one another around the person's arm. The white tiger behind them withdrew its teeth and approached the person's hand, sniffing it as if examining it. After a moment of sniffing, the tiger ducked down and crawled underneath the hand, allowing it to trail its body as a symbol of acceptance. The person rubbed the tiger's gently and lovingly before kneeling down to embrace the tiger. The person stood back to their feet, reached into the pocket of their cloak, and pulled out two vials; one of them was labeled "Godsend" and the other was labeled "Antidote." The person looked at the vials carefully. They then pulled back their hood to reveal long black hair that was tucked inside of the cloak and a face that was unmistakable. The person was AJ Lee. She closed her eyes and knelt down to the white tiger's level.

"I miss the old me." She said to the tiger. "The me who was into comic books and video games. The me who inspired people to be themselves no matter who said anything about it. The me who had achieved her dream after so much hard work put in and blood lost. I miss the nerdy and hard-working April Brooks." AJ then stood to her feet again, the vials still in her hands. "I do, however, accept the me who is able to reach out to people and speak to them with a thought. The me who is able to see life flow through everything that breathes. The me who can learn anything just by looking at it. The me who can move buildings. The me who can hear the voices of the brain. I accept who I am now. The Super me." AJ looked at the vials once more before opening the vial labeled "Godsend" and consuming its contents. She took a deep breath and in a swift motion she opened the other vial labeled "Antidote" and consumed its contents as well. The tiger let out a low roar as if letting AJ know it was concerned. She rubbed the tiger's head to ease its nerves.

"I've decided." AJ said to the tiger. "I choose the future me. The me who will still be into comic books. The me who will still able to reach out and speak to people with a thought. The me who will still inspire people to love who they are and to also reinvent themselves every day no matter who says anything about it. The me who still be able to learn just by watching everything pass by. The me who will see life from the inside out. The me who will still be awesome with Scorpion in Mortal Kombat. The me who will move buildings with my mind. The me who will still have everything the old me worked for, but with every gift the current me was given. I choose April Jeanette Brooks. I choose the Geek Goddess." The white tiger let out a roar that sounded as if it could have rattled the planet. AJ looked down to her feline companion.

"I need to go be with my friends now." She said. The tiger nuzzled her leg gently. AJ furrowed her brow. "Are you sure that's what you want?" The animal let out a low roar as if answering AJ's question. AJ smiled and knelt down. "Thank you for this. You've been a big help, you know. When we first met, I thought for sure you were gonna eat me. Then you sat next to me with these trees and protected me while I got my head together. I owe you, big guy." AJ stood to her feet and a determined look fell onto her face. She closed her eyes and said. "I'm coming back, Phil. I promise."


	19. We're All We've Got

**A/N: Sorry for the super long wait! This Chapter is a little long, but it sheds a bit of background story on a few characters. Enjoy, and Comments and Reviews are always welcome.**

When Phil woke up he found himself on a medical bed with I-Vs latched onto his arms. His head felt as if it were swimming as he sat up. His sight slowly came back to him and he noticed Wade Barrett was standing in the room with Linda and Triple H. Upon seeing Linda, he knew something had happened.

"What…" Phil started slowly. "…am I doing on this bed?"

"I went to see if you were alright after you ran off." Wade said. "I found you out on the floor." Phil looked at Wade with trying eyes before deciding he owed him gratitude.

"Thanks man." Phil said simply.

"What happened to you?" Linda asked. He knew that if he told Linda that not knowing where AJ was had caused an anxiety attack that he would have been kept in the bed he laid in then.

"I guess I was just exhausted." He lied to her.

"You gotta take better care of yourself." Triple H said without thinking. Linda turned to look at him.

"Paul." She said to him. "That was not very considerate of you to say that." Phil laid back down in bed.

"It's cool." Phil said. "I'm honestly shocked he cared to say it. He's not wrong, though. I should have had more water." Phil looked around. "How long was I asleep?"

"It's almost morning now." Linda told him. "You've certainly gotten your night's worth of rest."

"You can sit today out if you want." Triple H said. Phil did not give Triple H's offer to stay in bed time to resonate in his mind.

"I don't think so." Phil said. "I'm a team player regardless of what you secretly think. I'll be out there when duty calls." Triple H smiled.

"Good to hear." He said. "See you out there." Linda and Triple H walked out of the room, leaving Wade and Phil alone.

"What the hell happened to you?" Wade asked Phil. Phil furrowed his brow.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"I heard you scream. That's what made me see about you. What happened?" Phil's face began to fill with defeat, and Wade noticed. "Is it that serious?"

"I kept hearing April's voice in my head." Phil told the Englishman. "I couldn't take it. I had an anxiety attack."

"Wow, man. Sorry to hear that. Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I need to see this through, Stu. If I told them I had a panic attack then they would have sidelined me."

"And you wouldn't have resisted why?"

"Because it was Vince and his crew who did me in. I've got nothing against Paul and Stephanie. I respect them. If they tell me I should lay low, I'll do it. I can't risk them saying that now, though, so I'm gonna suck it up and make sure I can protect April." Wade nodded at Phil's reply.

"You're right." He said. "Well, how are ya now?"

"I'm fine. I just miss April." Wade saddened.

"I think we all do in some way." Wade began walking towards the door. "Well, if you need anything, just let me know. I'll do my best to take care of you." Phil blinked at Wade's gesture.

"Why?" He asked curiously. Wade Barrett turned back around to face him.

"Because, Phil." Wade started. "When you worked for the WWE, you spoke up about things that I just couldn't say. Both you and April did that. You two were the voice of the fans, and you were my voice when I couldn't say anything. Because of you two, the WWE is finally turning around to become what it shoulda been a long time ago. You saved me from thinking that my career as a wrestler was just a barber shop joke and that I should go back to fighting in Liverpool. You kept me from giving up on my dream. I owe you my life, just about, and I bet a lot of us can say the same when I say that I respect you. Both of you." The tall man waved his hands briefly. "So there's that." All Phil could do was nod.

"Wow." Phil said in response. "I have to say, I honestly expected you to say you had a crush on me or something, but hearing the other reason…that's pretty hardcore. Thanks, Stu. I respect you, too, and so does Apes." Wade smiled and nodded.

"She'll be alright, Phil." Wade said. "She's a tough little woman."

"Don't let her hear you say 'Little Woman'." Phil told him. "She hates that." Wade laughed and then straightened.

"Get better soon." With that, he left Phil in the room. Phil began to think about what Barrett told him about the Superstars and Divas respecting more than he knew. He always felt resented in the locker room for having the ability to say what was on his mind when it came to how the company ran under Vince's rule. Some believe that his actions even influenced AJ to do the same thing regarding the Divas Division and voice her concerns and issues. For a brief moment, Phil began to think that maybe leaving the WWE the way that he did might not have been so wise and the predicament it most likely put AJ in. He then began to wonder what she would think of his thoughts of returning to the company she worked for now that the power has shifted. Those thoughts quickly turned into a yearning to have AJ with him again. Phil felt the sadness returning, so he tried to dismiss his thoughts of his wife so that he could recover. When they dissipated, he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.

* * *

In Linda's room, Linda sat at the end of her bed while Stephanie stood on the side.

"Do you think he's awake?" Stephanie asked. Linda nodded.

"I'm sure he is." She said. "He hardly ever sleeps." Linda stood to her feet, walked to her coffee table and picked up the rotary phone that was sitting on the edge of it. Linda spun the dial a few times then held the receiver to her ear. A man picked up the other line.

"Linda." The man said. "Nice to hear from you."

"Likewise, Mister President." Linda replied. "I'm sure you're well aware of the events that took place in New York City a couple of days ago."

"Yes I am."

"The same people who are fired upon the city are coming after my children's company and myself. As you know, I am capable of compiling a good defense."

"You had some of the best defensive strategies I have ever encountered. I was saddened to hear that you resigned."

"I felt it was time, Sir. My apologies for leaving your service."

"Think nothing of it, Linda. Are you offering your skill set to help fight these people? We could definitely use your expertise."

"I'm afraid not, Sir." Linda took a deep breath. "I am actually requesting your assistance with my battle. While I know our forces will be busy with assisting the city with recovery and well-being, I feel that by eliminating the threat from the inside out we can destroy their guiding light. I am able to do this, but I need assistance. I am requesting military man power."

"As much as I would like to lend help," The President's words stung Linda deeply as she knew what would come next. "We are on high alert due to the attack on New York City. All available units are being transferred to New York to help with defense and recovery. I trust you and I know you will be able to handle the situation on your end." Linda nearly hung up the phone until she recalled who was on the other end.

"Of course, Mister President." She said. "We will take care of it."

"Good." He said. "Thank you for your help, Linda. Report any critical findings to me personally."

"I understand."

"Good bye, Linda."

"Good bye." Linda stayed on the line until she heard the dial tone then hung the phone up. Stephanie looked at her mother's distressful face.

"He isn't going to help." She said. "Is he?" Linda stood to her feet.

"No, Stephanie." She said to her daughter. "He will send us no help. When we confront this we will be on our own." Stephanie grimaced.

"So," Stephanie started. "We've got no assistance with this. That was what you were banking on? Help from the military?" Linda looked into Stephanie's eyes.

"No. Not at all. The military support would have been just that."

"But now we have no support on this, Mom. Can we do it by ourselves?" Linda shut her eyes a moment.

"I don't know what this group your father got into business with is capable of." Linda said. "I can say that if your father does not agree to pay him then we must be prepared to defend ourselves." Stephanie then remembered something.

"Mom." She started. "There were two stipulations in play here." Linda blinked.

"Two stipulations?"

"Yes." Stephanie sat down on the bed. "Dad paying them their money back was one of them, but the other was April. We need to supply them with both of those to keep from fighting." Linda sighed.

"Stephanie. I remember hearing that. We both know that giving her to them is simply not an option."

"In other words, this fight is inevitable?"

"Clever girl."

"Does everyone else know that?" Linda shook her head before speaking again.

"No."

"Why not? They should know that they'll be in for the fight of their lives tomorrow."

"You run the risk of lowering morale by telling them that, even if it is the truth." Stephanie nodded.

"Well, when are you going to tell them about the lack of support?" She asked. "They will need to know that."

"Today before we begin our training." Linda told her. "It is our last day of it." Linda chuckled. "By the way, I didn't realize that you and Paul hired trained soldiers on a regular basis."

"I had no idea they were going to be this good." Stephanie claimed. "I'm so glad they are, though, that I'm not even going to question it."

"They are athletes, Stephanie. I wouldn't have expected anything less. However, one of your men do raise questions in my head." Stephanie knew exactly who Linda was referring to.

"Claudio?"

"Yes. Where is he from?"

"He came to the US from Switzerland." Linda narrowed her eyes.

"Who were his parents?"

"His record said they were deceased." Stephanie replied. "It had his guardians as Xavier and Adria Von Gunten, his maternal grandparents. His birth parents aren't listed." She then grew concerned. "Why? Do you know something about him?"

"I just feel like I know the name 'Castagnoli' from somewhere else."

"Somewhere else?"

"I can't recall for the life of me. My largest question is about what he did before he got into wrestling." Stephanie thought briefly.

"His records told us he was heavily into Rugby and Lacrosse before doing wrestling." She said. "None of those make him as good as he is at military warfare, though." Linda said. "Nonetheless, Claudio is definitely an asset."

"He is." Stephanie said. Linda walked towards the door.

"It's time to wake everyone up." She told her daughter. "Let's go."

* * *

About half an hour later, everyone had made their way to the presentation area of the building for their briefing after they awakened. As expected, Linda and Stephanie were standing in front of the podium and Linda stepped forward to speak.

"Good morning." Linda said to all of them. She heard Bayley return the gesture and waited a moment before continuing. "Tomorrow is the day we face this monster of a task with willing bodies. I personally want to thank all of you for fighting this fight with my family." Linda shut her eyes briefly, deciding to follow Stephanie's advice and tell the crowd what was going on. "My intent was to have government and military support with this so it can go as smooth as possible. Unfortunately, the military will be assisting with recovery teams in New York after the attack. The forces you see around you are the forces that will protect you during this. As physically prepared as you all are, I want all of you to be mentally prepared for what may happen as well." Linda and Stephanie heard Wade Barrett speak up.

"We're all ready to knock some heads around!" He said. "Right, guys?" Everyone let out a unanimous shout in agreement. "See? Wherever you want us to go, we're going! We owe you."

"Stu's right." Naomi added. "We wouldn't be what we are if it weren't for the McMahon's! We owe them our lives! I'm willing to go as far and as hard as I need to!" Jimmy Uso chimed in.

"You got her," He started as he hugged his wife around the waist. "You get me, too!" Soon, applause from the Superstars and Divas filled the area. Cesaro then raised his hand.

"Wait, wait!" He shouted, catching everyone's attention and making John look over at him. "Wait, everyone." Linda looked to him.

"Yes, Claudio?" She said. Cesaro cleared his throat.

"Miss McMahon." He started. "You are stating that we won't have help from the military. Correct?"

"Yes. That's right."

"In Switzerland, my grandparents were heavily into playing Chess."

"What does Chess have to do with any of this?" Stephanie interrupted. Linda raised her hand.

"Let him finish please." Linda said to her daughter before looking back to Cesaro. "Continue." Cesaro nodded.

"Well, they taught me that Chess is all about making the right movements at the right moment to create an advantage."

"Is there a purpose for the knowledge you're sharing?" Linda asked.

"Yes there is, actually. I can bet my livelihood that we are outnumbered, and numbers almost always trump power no matter the force we carry. We need to move so that we are closer to our allies. The military will be helping New York recover. If we were to relocate and take our battle to New York City then the forces would assist us through common location." Linda narrowed her eyes in thought. Stephanie spoke up first.

"We can't move this to New York." Stephanie harped. "There will still be innocent people there."

"I have already assessed that." Cesaro said to her. "If we combine our force with the military, there will be enough of us to separate temporarily to assist in escorting those who have not left already. The military is already there working on evacuation according to you so we will not need much of our force to assist with that mission."

John looked at Cesaro with confusion. He began feeling like he knew nothing about the man he had been watching so closely. John immediately decided that when their lives returned to normal he would interrogate Cesaro and find out everything about him. On the stage, Linda eyed Cesaro with a sense of amazement.

"I must admit to you, Claudio." Linda started. "I would not have thought of relocation if you didn't explain it to me. That sounds like the best choice we have for assistance. Even if they don't help us, which I'm sure won't be the case, the vacant buildings will provide cover should we need it." Linda clapped her hands together. "Brilliant. I believe we have our plan of action. We need to get moving, however, because all of this must be in place tomorrow."

"But what about the debt Vince ain't payin'?" Dwayne asked.

"It's obvious he isn't paying it." Stephanie chimed in. "Even if he did, we don't know where April is." Both Lana and Brie looked down at their feet when the comment about AJ was made. The two noticed each other, however, and gave each other a brief look before looking back to Linda. Nikki, standing between, did not notice the exchange. Her attention was drawn into Cesaro and his proposal while admitting to herself that the former was more important than the latter.

"Regardless of the stipulations," Linda started. "We are preparing for the worst case scenario. We will be relocating to New York City in about eight hours. I want all of you to gather your things and prepare for the trip." Linda then hardened her facial expression. "Tomorrow we will lay our lives on the line for us, and I refuse to fail and let you all down. Keep that in mind. You are dismissed." With that, Linda and Stephanie got down from the stage and headed back to their rooms to get themselves ready, leaving the Superstars and Divas to do the same.

"Well then." Dean Ambrose said to Cesaro as he passed by. "I guess calling you Cesaro Man is out of the question. I'm gonna have to call you Super Cesaro because you clearly can do every-fucking-thing!" Becky Lynch looked over at Dean with displeasure.

"Are you kidding me, Jon?" Becky said with impatience. "Are you always an asshole or is it just something you do for puddles?" Dean shrugged.

"I'm just saying he knows how to do everything! Fuck, the guy even speaks all the languages in the world!" Bayley and Sasha spoke up.

"That's no reason to call him names." Bayley said to Dean.

"Right." Sasha added. "I think Claudio is wonderful!"

"Oh, so now all the chicks are gonna gang up on me about their Man Crush Monday candidate over here?" Cesaro turned around from his room door, walked up to Dean, and looked him in the eyes.

"No one is ganging up on you, Jonathan." Cesaro said. "They are just feeding your need for attention and filling a void in your ego." Dean smirked.

"You know, Carbonara," Dean whispered. "That tongue of yours is pretty damned sharp for you to be such a square. If you weren't the fucking stranger you are to me, I'd be compelled to say that I'm into you right now. They say nerds are the best in bed." Cesaro put his hand on Dean's chest palm first.

"I'm truly flattered, Jonathan." He started. "Someday I may need you to show me if your tongue is as sharp as mine is." Dean's eyes widened as he looked at Cesaro's hand on his chest.

"Did you just hit on me, Carbonara?" Cesaro let out an airy laugh.

"It's Castagnoli." He said with half a smile. "And whatever you just tried to do to me, I just did to you." Cesaro then squeezed Dean's chest muscle twice, making Dean jump slightly from the sensation given to him by the other man's hand. Cesaro laughed and went into his room. Dean, still flustered, looked over to see both Seth and Dwayne staring at him.

"What?" Dean stammered. Seth simply shook his head.

"And I thought I was the one for you." Dwayne said sarcastically. "Candy ass! We were gonna eat fish together!" Seth could not help but to laugh at Dwayne's comments and Dwayne walked off. Dean looked over at Seth.

"It was funny." Seth said in defense.

* * *

In his room, Cesaro was packing his things with haste when John Cena walked into his room.

"You should be packing your things up." Cesaro said to John as if he felt John's presence behind him.

"I never unpacked." John replied. "I knew we weren't staying long so I left everything in my bags and only took out what I needed when I needed it." Cesaro nodded. John then thought about what was discussed earlier in the meeting. "That plan you put together was pretty impressive. Where did you get your skills from, Claudio? I have to know." Cesaro stopped packing.

"I learned it from playing Chess for so many years." Cesaro said simply.

"You mean to tell me that everything you know you learned by playing Chess?" Cesaro sighed. He then stood to his feet, walked to his door, and closed it and locked it. He then grabbed John's broad shoulders and proceeded to sit him down on the bed.

"I'm sorry, John." Cesaro said as he looked deep into John Cena's eyes. "Now is not the time to discuss my past."

"Then when is?" John asked in disappointment. Cesaro took a deep breath then sat down next to John.

"Ask me whatever you want." Cesaro said, finally caving under John's pressure. "Just know that any answer I give you must be kept." John blinked at him.

"Who are your parents?" John asked.

"My father was Giuliano Castagnoli and my mother was Fiora Von Gunten."

"Was?"

"They are dead. My father died when I was nine and mom died shortly after that."

"Sorry to hear that, Claudio."

"No, John. I'm sorry. I lied to you when I said I visited my grandparents every summer. When my parents died, my grandparents became my guardians. I didn't just stay with them in the summer. I lived with them in Lucerne for the rest of my childhood until I began wrestling professionally."

"It's alright, Claudio." John said. "It must be hard to talk about your parents. Why did you feel you had to lie to me, though?"

"Because I've lied to everyone here about my past." Cesaro replied. "It's just not something I can tell everyone. I do want to tell you, however, so you can't tell anyone." John grew worried.

"Is it that serious?" he asked Cesaro.

"It is."

"I won't tell a soul. You have my word." Cesaro sighed and began his story.

"My parents were hitmen. They never told me where they were based out of, but they did tell me the two of them met during a mission in Italy and conceived me while they were there. They were in Lucerne when Mother had me. We moved to Lithuania so that my mother could get out of the business and raise me. My father stayed in. When I turned four years old, my parents worked on teaching me everything they knew about the art of warfare to include assassin arts."

"Your parents trained you to be a killer at four?" John asked.

"Yes, John. Years later, after not being called for duty, my father was hired to kill a woman and her child. My father told me that you must never kill women nor children. Mother said when he got the details he declined. Someone was sent after him and he was killed. The day she heard about it, she sent me back to Switzerland to live with my grandparents. That was the last I heard of my mother."

"What happened to her?" Cesaro shook his head.

"When I searched for her," he started. "I found out that she had died of an illness a year after she sent me away."

"Wow, Claudio. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Everything else you know. None of that changed. My grandparents made me study hard to be academically successful and enrolled me into sports to help keep me busy during the times I had no school work. They did, however, let me watch wrestling during the summer and that is where I got my drive to be a wrestler. My past disappeared more and more with each passing day, but this past week brought all those memories back to me. Everything my parents taught me came rushing back to the front of my mind."

"Why didn't you tell the WWE officials about all this?" John asked.

"If they knew about what my parents did for a living and my training under their care, then they would not have hired me." John then pulled Cesaro into a hug.

"Claudio." John said. "I had no clue how much you went through when you were a kid. It makes all my childhood problems look small. Thank you for trusting me with all this." Cesaro took a deep breath.

"No." Cesaro said. "Thank you for being so patient with me." John broke his embrace to look Cesaro in his eyes.

"You don't have to worry about that." John said to him. "However much time you need, I'll give it to you. I'll do my best to make sure that you never have to worry about that battle ever again." The two men fell into an awkward silence that seemed to last an eternity before Cesaro spoke.

"You had best get to your room." He said. "You still have a few things to pack up, don't you?" John nodded.

"Yeah." He said. "I do." John then stood to his feet and went for the door but was stopped by Cesaro. He turned around to see the bald man staring into his eyes.

"I hope…" Cesaro started. "…This isn't the last time I get to do this." John looked at Cesaro with confusion, but his thoughts were interrupted by Cesaro's soft lips connecting with his own in a kiss. Cesaro broke the kiss and opened his eyes to see John in a daze. He smiled loosely and said, "Go pack your things, John." John, still in a daze, nodded and headed out of the door. Cesaro closed it behind him and lend on it with a genuinely satisfied look on his face.

* * *

In Zack Ryder's room, Zack was packing his things up and had almost finished when he heard a knock at his door. He opened it to see Paige standing in front of the doorway.

"Saraya." Zack called out. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," Paige started. "I'm all done packing so I wanted to see if you needed help with your stuff."

"You wanna help me pack? I thought you hated me."

"Well, I do hate you because you helped Vince McMahon shoot AJ up with some chemical. But, you're my ally now so I hate you less. Besides, something tells me you hate yourself more than I could ever hate you right now. Why add more hate to that?" Zack sighed.

"I feel terrible." Zack confessed. "I've felt like this ever since the day the bistro got blown up. I feel like that was my fault." Paige furrowed her brow.

"Why would you feel like that?" She asked. "You weren't even there."

"I know that, but I can't quit feeling like I did it. I feel like all of this was because of me helping Vince get AJ."

"Look. I know you feel bad and rightfully so. If you wanna make it right, then keep doing what you're doing. You helped John, Claudio, Randy, and AJ right? You keep doing good things and everything will work out. Right now, though, you gotta suck that shit up and toughen up ya bollocks! We got a life-or-death mission to beat up these Russian lads and ladies on our plates!" Zack blinked at Paige.

"What's up with you being all nice to me all of a sudden?" He asked her.

"Did you not listen to what I said?" Paige replied. "I said I'm being nice because we're allies here. I have to be nice to you."

"No you don't!" Zack snapped back. "Not if you don't want to!"

"You know what? You're right. I don't have to be nice to you! I don't have to be nice to anyone! I'm nice because I want to be, and I wanted to be nice to you but you're too much of a bastard who likes his ass licked for you to notice!"

"I didn't-" Zack grew confused when he thought about what Paige called him. "Wait, what did you call me?"

"You're a…" Paige hesitated a bit. "…bastard who likes his ass licked."

"I've never had my ass licked, but I know I don't like it!"

"I don't know, Matt." Paige said playfully. "You look like you might enjoy it more than you think."

"No, I won't because it's not happening! Why would you call me that?"

"It's something we British say."

"I've been to England and I've never heard anyone call someone that."

"You were in the wrong part!"

"Whatever!" Zack and Paige looked at each other with angered expressions.

"You are going to be my best friend." Paige said. "Got it?"

"I'd better be."

"Are you demanding this from me?"

"Damn right."

"We're gonna get along great."

"Aren't we already?"

"Not quite. You still aren't letting me help you pack." Zack laughed and moved over to let Paige sit next to him on the bed.

* * *

In Nikki and Brie's room, the sisters were finishing up with their packing. Nikki then noticed Brie stopped what she was doing and was staring at the wall.

"Brie?" Nikki called out. "Are you alright?"

"I just started thinking." Brie replied. "How did you get wrapped up in all of this?"

"You're my sister." Nikki told Brie. "That's how."

"Seriously, that's the only reason you have to be here."

"You were with me when I needed you, Brie, just like you always are. Sure, I legitimately don't have a reason for being here other than you being my sister and your husband being killed by these people, but that is a more-than-good reason to risk my life fighting with you."

"Nikki…"

"Brie, a lot of things happened that made me open my eyes to so many things I've done wrong. It's time for me to make those things right. You and John are back in my life, I have new friends in Nick and Rami, and I haven't felt the urge to hurt myself since then. I'm on the right track, but I still have work to do. I won't let you fight this battle by yourself. I don't care what the risks are." All Brie could do was smile at her sister Nikki's heartfelt speech.

"It's really hard to believe that if this happened not even two weeks earlier you wouldn't have even been here. You would have been at home watching on TV." Brie hugged Nikki. "You're finally the Nicole I grew up with. I missed you so much." It was then when the twins heard someone knock on their door.

"Yes?" Nikki answered. She heard a thick accent on the other side.

"Is it a bad time?" It was Lana.

"No." Brie said. "You can come in." Lana opened the door slowly.

"Brianna. May I speak to you?" She said to Brie.

"Sure." Brie stood up and looked at Nikki. "Do you mind stepping out for a minute, Nikki?"

"Not at all." Nikki told Brie before she let Lana in and stepped out of the room. Brie closed the door behind her sister and sat down on the bed.

"What do you need, Catherine?" Brie asked, still on edge being in Lana's presence after learning she aided Vince McMahon in capturing AJ. Lana sighed.

"That look you gave me while Linda was speaking…" Lana started. "You know something about April. Don't you?" Brie had sworn to secrecy about AJ's whereabouts. However, being as the person AJ had left to find was standing in front of her, she deemed unnecessary for her knowledge to remain hidden.

"I just know she left to look for you." Brie said quietly.

"I saw her, too." Lana said to Brie. "She saw me before she disappeared again." Brie's eyes widened.

"I saw her? Why haven't you said anything?"

"When she found me, she told me what she would be doing and asked me to keep quiet. When I saw that look in your eyes, though, it told me that you knew, too."

"Well, now you know that I don't."

"Yes. You cannot tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. You can't even tell your sister." Brie bit her lip as she knew it was going to weigh heavy on her to keep a secret from Nikki.

"Alright." Brie ultimately agreed.

"April met me when I was about to leave Russia to look for her after the same people that are coming for you came for my father and me. They killed him, but before he died he gave the rest of the mixture April was injected with along with an antidote."

"There's a cure?"

"Yes, Brianna."

"What did you do with it?"

"My father instructed me to come back to the states, find April, and give both of the vials to her."

"You didn't have to come here, though, because she found you. Right?"

"That's right. I gave her the vials and she sent me here to be protected from the people whom we are going to fight tomorrow."

"Where did she go?"

"She told me she needed time to herself to think about which vial she would take. I know the antidote would void the serum in her body now and turn her back to normal."

"I assume taking the rest of the serum would mean April would become way stronger than she already is."

"That I do not know. Only my father knew."

"Why did they attack you two?"

"The head man and my father had an unpleasant exchange. He sent people after us. Why are they coming for you all?" Lana thought for a moment. "It is because of Vince McMahon. Isn't it?"

"Linda and Paul both told us he owes them money." Brie told Lana. "They also want AJ. They said that if Vince doesn't supply both they would kill everyone in his family. Vince won't pay them and we wouldn't give AJ up even if we could, so we are preparing to fight them."

"I see." Lana said as she nodded. "Well, to reassure you, you have my unbridled allegiance." Lana stood to her feet. "Please remember what I told you. Do not say a word." Brie placed her hand over her heart.

"I won't tell anyone." Brie said. Lana nodded and walked out of the room. Nikki then stepped in and sat down next to Brie.

"What did she want?" Nikki asked her. Brie immediately tensed, but she knew exactly what to tell her twin.

"It was nothing." Brie said. "She just wanted to tell me how much she admired us and wanted to be a part of the Bellas when we get done with all this."

"No kidding." Nikki said, shocked at hearing the news. "She'd be an interesting addition, definitely."

"I told her we'd think about it." Brie felt bad about lying to her sister, but she knew Nikki could not keep a secret.

"What would we even call her?" Nikki asked. "Lana Bella? It sounds like a drink you have when you just broke up with your ex again or something." Brie could not help but to laugh.

"Stop it, Nikki." Brie said through her laughter.

"You know it's funny. It would be nice, though, to have someone different in our group. I've seen Catherine practicing. She's getting good."

"I know. She'll be in the ring in no time."

"Right." Nikki walked over to her bag to continue packing her things. "I can't believe we are actually going through with this. If Mom and Dad find out they are going to flip!" Brie worked past her feelings to humor her sister's comment.

"I know!" She said. "We can't tell them, though."

"Why not? They're gonna be worried. You know this is gonna be on the news."

"We'll talk to them about it when Linda says we can."

"This is so weird, you know. I never thought we'd be caught up in something like this." As Nikki continued talking, Brie began to think about the burden of not telling Nikki about what Lana told her. She then began thinking about her fallen husband, Daniel Bryan. After a while, she heard Nikki call out to her.

"Brie?" Nikki said. "What's wrong?" Brie shut her eyes.

"I was…" she started. "…thinking about Bryan." Nikki all but ran to her sister's side to console her.

"We're gonna get those fuckers for what they did, Brie." Nikki said with determination. "You can bet everything on that." Nikki pulled Brie into a hug.

* * *

Vince McMahon had managed to stand his chair up and sit in it as he waited to be removed from the room he was locked in. He had given up shouting and causing a scene as it was apparent no one could hear him. He chose to sit and reflect on his recent choices instead. It was then when he realized how tyrannical he had been in regards to AJ and the WWE in general. He directly recalled throwing out ideas given to him by his Creative team, Triple H, Stephanie, and even the Superstars and Divas themselves. The very same ideas he threw out were the ideas that made the company thrive under Triple H and Stephanie's care. Before he could think about it any further, Vince heard the massive metal door open. He looked up to see Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Dean Ambrose staring at him.

"We're supposed to let you out." Roman said to Vince.

"Much to our disliking." Seth added. Dean walked up to Vince and grabbed the arms of the chair.

"Yup." Dean said. "So let's get this over with." He had begun to roll Vince out of the room with his two friends following behind him before Vince spoke.

"Take me to Linda." He said to Dean. Seth looked back at him.

"Where the hell did you think we were taking you?" He asked, an irritated tone lacing his voice.

"Let's just do what he asked so we can get ready." Roman told the two men. Dean shrugged then proceeded to roll Vince into Linda's room where she was speaking to Steve Austin. The two looked at Vince then to the three young men.

"Why did you bring him in here?" Linda asked.

"I asked them to bring me in here." Vince replied with a defeated tone. "I've done some thinking."

"Well, that would explain the beads of sweat of your forehead." Roman stifled a laugh after hearing Linda's sly remark. "What were you thinking about?"

"I…want to pay the Russians." Dean clapped his hands together.

"Hot-fucking damn!" He shouted. Seth nudged him in his side.

"I'm with him, Vince!" Steve said as he raised his hands. "What the hell took you so damned long to come to your senses?"

"Right." Linda said in agreement. "What went on in your head to make you actually want to pay these people their money now after we've gone through all this?"

"Look." Dean started. "No offense or anything, but does it really matter why he wants to pay the anorexic Zangief and his crew? He wants to pay them. That's what matters. What's next? You call 'em up and tell them we got their money?"

"Precisely." Linda said.

"Fair enough." Steve said to Linda. Linda walked to her dresser and pulled out a combat knife.

"I'm going to cut you free, Vince." Linda said. "You are going to fill out the check I'm going to give you. Do not write in a dollar amount."

"What?" Vince said.

"We are not going to give them April, so we need a substitute for that. You are going to give them a blank check with your account information on it. They will enter the amount themselves."

"You can't expect me to agree with that!"

"If you don't, then this knife is going into your skull." Dean winced.

"Ya better do what she says, Vince." He said to the former Chairman. "I'd hate to have to call you the crypt keeper for more than one reason." Vince thought for a moment.

"Fine." He agreed. "But I'm moving in with you after all this is done." Linda silently cut the ropes off of Vince's wrists and freed him from the chair. Vince stood to his feet and was immediately surrounded by the three former Shield members and Steve Austin.

"It's alright, boys." Linda said as she walked up to them with Vince's check book. "He knows what's at stake here. He isn't going to try anything funny." The four men stepped aside and let Vince through to fill out the check. When he finished, Vince handed the check book back to Linda to allow her to look over it. She looked up at him.

"You've turned over a new leaf." She said to him. "You'll stay in here until it's time to leave because, quite frankly, I think you will be beaten out there with everyone else."

"Ya got that right!" Steve said. "I'd beat the shit out of 'em myself if you weren't standing here." Dean looked over to Seth.

"Stone Cold's awesome in person." Dean said, making Seth roll his eyes and shake his head. Linda went to the phone and began to dial a number.

"Who are you calling?" Vince asked.

* * *

Viel Raudoniene sat quietly in the office chair he seemingly did not move from when his sister Aksana walked up to him with a phone.

"Viel." She said in Russian. "It is for you."

"Who is it?" Viel responded.

"Linda McMahon." Viel furrowed his brow and grabbed the phone from his sister.

"You must have good news, Miss McMahon." Viel said in English to Linda on the other end.

"We have your money." Linda said.

"He finally came around. Good."

"We will meet you in New York City." Viel thought a moment.

"Why there?" He asked her.

"We are giving you more than you initially asked for. We will need certification for this amount."

"Well, since the amount you're giving me is so important to you, I'll let it remain a secret. We'll be there tomorrow at seventeen-hundred hours." Viel hung up the phone and handed it back to Aksana.

"What did she want?" Aksana asked in Russian.

"They have the money." Viel answered.

"Do they have AJ?"

"They didn't say."

"Why are you so calm about this, Viel?"

"Because somehow or another I know they won't give me the girl and no matter how much money we take from them, it won't be what we agreed upon. We are going to have to use force, and I know they're bringing their army so we get to bring ours." Viel stood up from his chair. "Zivile. Make the call." Aksana knew exactly what to do and left the room with the phone in her hand, leaving Viel in the room alone. The man simply shook his head.

"You would be so proud of us, Father." He said to no one in particular. "So very proud."


	20. Face to Face

**A/N: I hope yyou guys enjoy this build-up to the climax! It took me a while to finish this one. Enjoy, and as always reviews and subscriptions are welcome! **

Celeste had been calling around asking if anyone knew where her friends had gone, but no one had answers for her. The frustration began to show in her face as she paced around her hotel room.

"Celeste." PJ called out to her. "Sit down. Worrying won't do any good."

"I know that, PJ!" Celeste shouted, shocking PJ. She then took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. I'm just really upset."

"I know. We'll hear from them." PJ then got an idea. "Have you called Scott?" Kaitlyn blinked.

"Scott didn't even cross my mind." She said as she pulled her phone out. "If anybody would know where Phil and April are, he would!" Celeste called Scott Colton, the man known as Colt Cabana. The phone rang twice before he answered.

"Yo!" Colt said on the other line. "Bonin! What's going on?"

"You've been watching the news right, Scott?" Celeste asked him.

"Yeah I have. What the hell is going on in NYC this time? Also, why was RAW not on last night?"

"Are you close to NYC?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Kind of? I'm in Union City at the moment. Why?"

"We need to talk. Me and PJ are coming to you. Where are you staying?"

"The Skyline Hotel."

"Okay. Don't leave. We'll be there in about twenty minutes."

"Alright, alright. I'll be here. I'm in room five-eighty-one."  
"Okay cool. See you there." Celeste ended the call.

"What did he say?" PJ Asked her. "I notice you didn't ask him where Phil and April were."

"We're going to Union City to meet him and catch him up. We'll ask him after that." Kaitlyn replied. "Come on."

"Whoa, babe. Can we even leave the city? You know everything is blocked off because of that attack."

"We'll find a way out. All the roads can't be blocked off. I mean, people have to get out of here." Kaitlyn began gathering her things to head out and PJ followed suit.

"It's been a while since we've seen Scott, Celeste." PJ stated.

"Yeah." Celeste agreed. "It really has. We really need to hang out with our friends more."

"Agreed. Once this is all over, we are going to get everyone together and invite them over. We need to have a party or something."

"Great idea! We gotta figure out where the hell everyone is first, though!"

* * *

Adrian Neville and Kofi Kingston got a hotel room together after leaving the meeting with the rest of the Superstars and Divas, and the two had been keeping a close eye on the news since that day. Kofi could not shake the feeling of regret he felt from not joining his comrades. Neville began to notice his demeanor changing.

"Kofi." Neville called out. "You sure you're alright?" Kofi shook his head.

"I still feel like I should have gone with them." Kofi said to Neville. "They stopped the shows because of all this anyway. The only reason I stayed behind is so I could work for the fans."

"I understand. That's why I chose to stay behind, too. But we can't go back to join them and we get in touch with them either. We'll just have to wait it out and wish for the best." Kofi sighed.

"You're right, Ben. I kinda miss AJ. I hope she's alright." Neville patted Kofi on the shoulder.

"I do, too, buddy." He said. "She's a tough girl, though. Whatever she's going through, she can handle it."

"Yeah." Neville sat down in the chair next to the bed.

"Anything new on the news?" he asked.

"Nah." Kofi replied. "They're still working on evacuating Central. I guess we'll be getting the call to leave tomorrow. This part of the city is next." Neville nodded.

"This is crazy." He said as he thought about everything that was happening. "It's like we're caught in some kind of war."

"The way Linda described it, we kinda are. I just can't believe Vince is behind all this. He's always been good to me. Not as good as Paul and Stephanie, but I never had a problem with him."

"Me neither. I guess that's why it's hard to see Vince getting involved in something like this and causing this much noise." Kofi then felt his pocket vibrate. He pulled his phone out and saw that Xavier Woods was calling.

"Yo." Kofi answered.

"It's Austin." Xavier said. "You watching the news?" Kofi looked at the television and noticed it was off. He pointed at it, signaling Neville to turn it on.

"We're watching it now." Kofi replied.

"Miro and Curt with me. We're coming down." Xavier ended the call and Kofi looked to the television.

"Who was it?" Neville asked.

"Austin." Kofi said. "He, Miro, and Curt are coming down to watch the news with us." The two men looked at the television as the reporter explained the situation.

"…And as the governor informed us during the press conference just minutes earlier," The woman said. "He as well as the Armed Forces are doing everything in their power to keep us abreast of what is going on here in New York City as I speak. We will keep you viewers updated as new information comes to us." The channel then cut to the weather report, leaving Kofi and Neville wondering what they missed.

"What was she talking about?" Neville asked.

"I don't know." Kofi replied. "I can bet anything Austin knows. He and Miro have been watching the news nonstop." Just as Kofi finished that statement the two men heard a knock on the door. Neville got up to open the door and saw Xavier Woods, Curtis Axel, and Rusev standing in the doorway.

"Yo, man." Kofi said to the three visitors. Rusev nodded. "So what's the news? We didn't catch it all."

"The governor is looking for volunteers to help evacuate everyone to the outer borders of the city." Rusev told him.

"No joke?"

"That's what the reporter said." Xavier chimed in. "We were thinking about doing it." Curtis shook his head.

"I was trying to convince them not to go." He said. "They wanna help, though."

"Curt's right." Neville said. "We can't join them. If we do go out there and get hurt we could end up losing our jobs."

"I don't wanna sit in this hotel and wait for them to get to us, Ben." Xavier said.

"I know. I don't either, trust me, but I don't want to get hurt or anything making sure every person in New York is moved."

"Benjamin makes a valid statement, Austin." Rusev said. "We cannot lose our jobs doing what the military is here to do."

"Told ya!" Curtis said as he raised his hands in the air. Xavier eyed Rusev.

"Come on, man!" He said. "Weren't you on my side before we left the room?"

"That was until Benjamin opened my eyes to the possibility of injury." Xavier huffed then looked at Kofi.

"You're out, too." Xavier said. "Aren't you?"

"I was never in." Kofi said.

"You guys suck. We should have stuck with Linda."

"We all said the same thing." Neville told Xavier.

"Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda!" Curtis harped. "Yeah, we shoulda stayed with them because we wouldn't be here waiting around, we coulda joined them because we'd be useful there, and we woulda stayed if we knew they were gonna cancel all the shows. Shit, we're here now, so we gotta do everything we can to stay outta trouble and stay safe so we can actually work when the shows do pick back up." Xavier and Rusev looked at each other before looking at Curtis.

"Okay fine." Xavier said in a defeated tone. "I won't mention it anymore." Xavier then felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out and saw he had an alert.

"What's up?" Kofi asked.

"My phone sends me news alerts." Xavier answered. "Good news for you guys, they closed the volunteer line. I guessed they got everyone they needed." Neville let out a sigh of relief.

"Good." He said. "Now we don't have to worry about it."

"We're just sitting here then." Curtis said. "Right?"

"Right." Curtis then plopped onto the bed.

"Good."

"Hell no!" Xavier said. "I'm hungry and I know you guys don't have anything I eat in here."

"Everything is closed." Rusev stated.

"Wal-Mart is never closed." Rusev thought for a moment.

"He's right, ya know." Curtis said. "Wal-Mart is most likely open. Besides I'm hungry too."

"The only Wal-Mart I know of is in Union City." Neville said.

"Union City it is then!" Xavier said. "Come on."

"You aren't serious are you?" Kofi asked him.

"Yes, I'm serious! You know I don't play about food!"

"So what. We're walking? All of us can't drive at once, and neither of our cars are big enough for everyone to ride together."

"Well, we're walking then." Kofi shook his head.

"I think this is a bad idea." Neville said.

"We're gonna have to go that way when they call for it anyway." Xavier said. "Might as well get a head start."

* * *

Everyone rode on the same plane on their way to New York. The Superstars and Divas were silent on the plane ride to New York City, and many of them were either asleep or listening to music. Sasha Banks sat quietly in her seat as her friend Bayley slept next to her. She could not help but wonder what would happen to all of them once the battle started, and she began to worry. Sasha, like a handful of the others, had no experience in the approaching environment and it weighed heavy on her mind. She looked around and noticed the silence.

"I don't believe this." Sasha said to herself quietly so not to disturb anyone. She looked out the window and watched the sky and the clouds pass the plane by. "I feel like this will be my last peaceful moment." She shut her eyes and leaned her head on the glass.

John Cena sat motionless as Cesaro slept next to him in the window seat. John glanced over at the man and saw the gentle stillness in Cesaro's face as he leaned on the edge of the window. All John could do was smile as he appreciated the peace Cesaro brought to him. He looked away and began to think about what lied ahead for all of them and the uncertainty of it all. John took a deep breath to ease his mind but then was shaken from his temporary trance as he felt Cesaro shift in his seat from facing the window to facing him. Cesaro appeared to be smiling in his sleep. John sighed and closed his eyes.

Nikki looked over at Brie and saw her looking out of her window. Brie's mind was full of thoughts running and rolling.

"Brie." Nikki said. "We're gonna get through this." Brie looked at her sister.

"I'm still worried." Brie said. "I can't help it. I want my life to be back to normal, Nikki."

"We all do, Brie." Paige said behind her before turning around to face the two while she leaned on Zack Ryder who was sitting beside her. "Trust me. I want to go back to wrestling and taking off these fatigues, and I can only imagine what you're going through. We have to make it through this if we're ever gonna go back to normal."

"Saraya's right." Nikki said. "We have to get our minds together for this."

"Nikki!" Brie said. "I'm in military fatigues. I would like to think that I'm as ready as I'm gonna be right now. That doesn't stop me from wanting things to be back to normal." Paige placed her hands on Brie's shoulders to try and console her.

"We're gonna get through this together." She said. "Then the three of us are going to get drunk as hell and party all night! Doesn't that sound fun?"

"Hell yeah." Nikki agreed. Brie smiled.

"I guess that sounds good." She said.

"Come on. You know you wanna go Brie Mode. I miss Brie Mode." Brie sighed.

"Oh my god…"

Phil propped his head up with his hand as he stared out the window. AJ's final words to him rang in his head repeatedly as if she stood in front of him speaking.

_"I'm coming back, Phil."_ He heard her say. _"I promise."_ Phil sighed to himself as he continued to gaze at the passing clouds until he felt a weight on his shoulder. He closed his eyes and slowly turned his head to see Wade Barrett leaning on him sleeping. He took a breath in an attempt to calm himself, then pulled one of his pillows from beside him. He thumped Wade on his forehead and woke the man.

"Ow!" Wade yelped and looked over to see Phil staring at him. "I fell asleep on you again? I'm sorry." Phil shook his head and placed the pillow on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it." Phil said to Wade. "Get some sleep. Just try to keep your mouth closed so you don't drool all over my pillow." Wade snickered.

"Alright. Just nudge me if I get too heavy." Phil let out an airy laugh.

"Don't worry about it, man. Just go back to sleep." Wade slowly set his head back on Phil's shoulder and quickly fell to sleep. Phil patted Wade on his head gently and went back to gazing out of the window.

Summer Rae sat next to Randy Orton on the plane. Randy looked over and saw Summer listening to music before deciding to nudge her to get her attention. She pulled her headphones out of her ears.

"When you found Alanna…" Randy started. "Where was she? Was she with Sam?" Summer Rae blinked at Randy's question.

"I don't think I should-" Before Summer could finish her answer, Randy interrupted her.

"Don't sugar coat it, Dani." Randy said to her. "Just tell me. I need to know." Summer Rae took a deep breath.

"I saw them both out the corner of my eye." Summer said. "Alanna was crying and Sam had been shot in her face." Randy balled up his lips.

"Did Alanna see that?" Summer shut her eyes and nodded, and Randy began to tear up almost instantly.

"Thanks, Dani." He said to Summer. "Thank you for telling me that, and thank you for saving my daughter."

"You're more than welcome, Randy." Summer said before placing her hand on Randy's. "We'll get them for what they did to her."

"I'll see to it personally." Randy said to Summer.

Dolph Ziggler and Ryback were asleep in the seats in front of Sami Zayn and Bo Dallas when Sami decided to wake Dolph up to ask him a question. He poked his finger between the two front seats and poked Dolph in the arm a few times before he woke up.

"What, Rami?" Dolph said as he turned around.

"I think I'm gonna give up on that Captain America hoodie." Sami told him. Dolph gave him a look of disgust.

"Really? That's what you woke me up to tell me? That crap could have waited!"

"I wanted to tell you now."

"I told you to wait and order the hoodie anyway. I don't get why you physically hunt the thing down when you can order it off of Amazon." After listening to the conversation, Bo Dallas decided to interject.

"I have one." He said to the two men, making Sami look at him.

"You have what?" Sami asked.

"I have a Captain America hoodie. I don't know if it's the one you want, but you can have it when we're finished with all this stuff." Sami blinked.

"You, Taylor, are my new hero! I've been looking everywhere for one!"

"Well." Dolph started. "Now you're getting your hoodie. Can you please stop going on about it?"

"Okay, fine! I won't say anything else about it."

"Good." Dolph put his headphones back in and closed his eyes while Sami started talking to Bo about the hoodie. Ryback, awakened by the chatter going on near him, laughed to himself after listening to Sami talk about how long he had searched for the Captain America hoodie.

The collective party of Linda, Vince, Stephanie, Triple H, Dwayne, Steve, Lana, Dean, Roman, and Seth took up the plane's front seats. All of them were asleep aside from Linda and Vince. As she sat patiently, Linda began to think about something that was not addressed in detail earlier.

"Vince." She called out.

"Yes?" Vince answered.

"I need to know. Why did you decide to pay these people after putting us through all of this?"

"I realized that I've done some things in my life recently that I'm not proud of. I then realized that all of you are paying for it. Is that fair?"

"Fair?" She said. "Since when is the word 'fair' in your vocabulary?"

"Since now."

"While I like how humble that sounds, you aren't known for your humility. There is another reason." Vince fell silent after Linda made her comment. "Fine. Don't tell me. All that matters is that you keep your word. You will hand them the check yourself so they know it's directly from you."

"Yes, Linda." Vince said. "I know. We've discussed this over ten times now. I've heard it from everyone sitting here. How many more times do I have to hear this?"

"However many times it takes to drill into your skull." Linda said calmly.

"Listen to me." Vince lifted the blank check up. "This here will potentially ruin everything I worked hard to build for myself and I'm willing to take this trip, walk up to some foreign mob boss, and hand this to him. I'm not exactly sure what else to say to you to let you know that I'm not going to back on this, Linda, so just wait and I'll show you." Vince's small speech sent Linda into silence. She turned herself so that she faced away from him.

"I hope you keep your word." Linda said to Vince.

* * *

Celeste and PJ had made it to the edge of their side of the city without being stopped. PJ drove while Celeste looked around for open streets.

"All the main streets look barricaded." PJ said to his wife.

"I see that." Celeste replied. "I figured we'd be taking the side roads, but even some of those are blocked off."

"I know. This is so surreal. It's like some Twilight-Zone type of shit." While scanning the area, Celeste saw someone familiar to her.

"PJ." She said. "Slow down a bit." She looked closer and noticed the person she saw was Kofi Kingston walking with four other men. "PJ! It's Kofi! That looks like Curt right here! Go get them!"  
"Alright, alright!" PJ shouted back at Celeste as he maneuvered to turn around. Down the road, Curtis spotted Kaitlyn and PJ.

"Yo." He said to his friends. "Is that Celeste and PJ?" Kofi looked to where Curtis pointed and confirmed his speculation.

"That is their van." Kofi said. He waved his hands in the air.

"Stop it, Kofi." Xavier Woods harped. "You look homeless when you do that!"

"Do you think I care about looking homeless? We all look homeless walking down this freakin' dead zone of a street!" Xavier looked at Kofi.

"Did you just reference Dragon Ball Z?" he asked.

"It fit fine when it came to my head."

"If at any time I wonder why we're friends, I'm going to remember this moment." Rusev tapped on Kofi's shoulder and pointed to the approaching van.

"They're coming this way." He said to him. Kofi looked to see PJ stopping the van in front of them. Celeste hopped out of the passenger seat.

"Kofi!" Celeste shouted as she hugged Kofi tight. "I missed you!"

"Good to see you, too, Les." Kofi said. Celeste then turned to Curtis and hugged him.

"What are you guys doing out here?" She asked all of them.

"If we tell you," Xavier started. "You can't laugh." PJ furrowed his brow.

"Are you guys hunting hookers again?" He asked, making everyone look at him. "What?"

"Who the hell does that shit?" Curtis asked him.

"Kofi and Austin told me one time that they were hunting hookers for a show." Xavier rolled his eyes.

"We said we were hunting bookers for a show." He explained. "That comedy show we wanted to do that one time but couldn't find any bookers? Yeah, that. We weren't hunting hookers, man."

"Ya know," PJ said. "I thought that sounded weird." Celeste shook her head.

"You never cease to amaze me." She said to her husband before looking back to her friends. "Where are you headed?"

"We're going to the Wal-Mart in Union City." Rusev told Celeste. The woman blinked at his answer.

"You're walking to Union City? Do you know how long that's gonna take you guys? Also, why do you think the Wal-Mart in Union City is open with all this going on?" Kofi slowly turned his head to look at Xavier.

"It just is." Xavier said. "I mean, it has to be. It isn't in the lockout zone so they shouldn't have closed it."

"Get in." PJ said. "We're going that way to see Scott."

"Colt Cabana?" Kofi asked. "What's he doing up in Union City?"

"He's up there on business." Celeste said as she got into the front seat. "Now get in." The five men followed Kaitlyn and PJ's instructions and fit themselves in the back of the van before they all began driving. Rusev and Neville sat in the two middle seats. Kofi, Curtis, and Xavier worked to fit themselves in the back seat.

"Dude." Xavier said to Curtis as he fought to put on his seat belt. "I can't get my seat belt on! Can't you scoot over or something?" Curtis shrugged.

"I'm already bumping the side, man." He said to Xavier as he continued to struggle with his seat belt.

"Why are you built like this?"

"Man!" Curtis harped, already knowing what Xavier was referring to. "I can't help that my hips are wide."

"It ain't just your hips, man! It's your ass, too! I can't get to my seat belt latch because you're sitting on it!"

"Why didn't you just ask me to get up so you can get it?"

"Because then you'll be sitting on the seat belt when you sit back down, Curt!" Celeste turned to face the back.

"You can live without the seat belt this time, Austin." She said to Xavier. "PJ won't throw you out of the windshield." Xavier folded his arms.

"Fine." He said. Moments later, to the shock of everyone riding, they all heard Rusev start singing the song, Baby Got Back, in reference to the discussion about Curtis's rear.

"Really, Miro!?" Curtis shouted. Xavier broke out into a guffaw.

"You guys!" Celeste said through a stifled laugh. "We were trying to figure out where everybody went."

"Yeah." PJ added. "They just up and left and didn't say a word to us."

"Really?" Xavier said. "No one said anything to you? Not even Phil?"

"Nope. We were going to see if Scott knew what was going on. Phil talks to him every day."

"We can tell you that." Rusev said to Celeste.

"No fooling?"

"You know about what happened to April already, I'm sure." Rusev started. Celeste nodded. "Linda McMahon held a meeting with all the Superstars and Divas. The Russians Vince McMahon borrowed from to help fund the drug he gave to AJ went after their money, but Vince refused to pay them."

"What!?"

"On top of that, they asked for April to be handed over to them, too, and they said they'd get violent if they didn't get both the money and April. Linda had everyone sent to some place to train for retaliation, but April wasn't with us during any of that."

"You mean to tell me that Linda McMahon is training everyone for war? Why didn't you all go with them?"

"Well," Neville started. "We thought they would need a skeleton crew to work while they were away, but they canceled all the shows so we're here just twiddling our thumbs now wishing we had gone with them." Celeste was at a loss for words.

"Wow." PJ said simply. "And all of this started with Vince?"

"That's what Linda told us." Curtis said.

"Unbelievable." Celeste said.

"Bo-live it." Rusev said, making Neville look over at him.

"Are you doing this on purpose or do you truly not know what you're saying?" he asked Rusev.

"I do it to relax." Rusev replied plainly.

* * *

Men and women garbed in black ran around Viel, Aksana, and Yakov whom was the other guard who joined them during their visit with the McMahons. The three of them wore white armored outfits that heavily contrasted the others scurrying around them. They all were in what appeared to be a tactical airplane, but one would not be able to tell such simply by looking at the exterior as it was designed to look like a plane built on United States soil. Aksana folded her arms.

"I still do not understand why we are negotiating with them when we've done this once already." Aksana stated in Russian.

"Do not worry yourself, Sister." Viel replied in the same language. "I told you our plan. Linda trusts us to show up at Times Square. We have to go there to maintain the relationship if we are to get what we are owed. Once we have that, we will return home without a care in the world." Aksana smiled at Viel.

"It sounded like a good plan to me." She said to him. "I was just unsure why we were negotiating again until now."

"That is why I will be the spokesman and you two will be my commanding officers." Aksana looked over at Yakov.

"How does that sound to you, Yakov?" She asked him. Yakov nodded stoically.

"Good." Viel said to his two comrades before turning away from them. "We are leaving now. Prepare yourselves." With that, the young man walked away, leaving Aksana and Yakov to themselves.

"Your brother worries me." Yakov said to her.

"There is not a day that I do not worry about him."

"Must he always choose such mediocre vehicles?"

"This plane is a family heirloom, and it's the closest thing we have to getting into the United States undetected."

* * *

The night had fallen on the other side of the ocean. The group of Celeste, PJ, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Rusev, Curtis Axel, and Neville finally made it to the hotel Colt Cabana was staying at in Union City after several hours of taking detours. They all got out of the van and saw Colt waiting for them outside under the shade. Celeste ran up to Colt and hugged him tightly.

"Scott!" she said with excitement. "It's been so long!"

"It has." He said to her. "What the hell took you guys so long?"

"We had to keep taking detours so we wouldn't get turned around." PJ said. Colt nodded.

"Gotcha. I was about to call ya. Luckily, I'm a patient guy." He greeted everyone else. "Hey you guys! Long time no see." They all returned the gesture. "So, Les. What's up? What's going on with Phil and Apes?"

"Well," Celeste started. "I'm gonna catch you up on everything that's been going on."

"Alright." Colt said. "You guys follow me to my room." Colt led all of them to his hotel room on the fifth floor. Neville looked at the room in awe.

"There's nothing in here really." He said.

"Yeah." Colt replied. "The room itself is huge, but there isn't much to distract me from work. That's how I asked for my room to be set up so I can focus. I'm scatter brained, ya know." Colt then plopped himself on the bed. "So, Les. What's going on that has you all riled up?"

"Okay." Celeste started. "What I'm gonna tell you is going to sound stupid as fuck, but I'm gonna need you to believe me." Colt blinked.

"Okay?"

"Okay. You already know about the Bistro Bomb. Sometime after that, April told me started feeling weird. Then, while we were watching her match on Raw a little over a week ago, we saw her push Nikki Bella without touching her. Then she went missing and Phil, PJ, Paige and I went looking for her and found out that Vince kidnapped her, John Cena, Randy Orton, and Claudio Castagnoli after we found them. After that, AJ told us that Vince hired a scientist to give her some drug without her permission and the side effects are messing with her brain and giving her powers. Me and PJ left that night. Now, everyone is gone and isn't returning any calls. Kofi told us that Linda McMahon held some meeting with all the Superstars and Divas. In the meeting, she said that Vince borrowed some money from these Russians and they came to get what he owed but he told them he wasn't paying. Now everyone, aside from a few, went with Linda for some type of military war training or something to get ready to fight those Russians."

All Colt could do was blink as the story registered in his head. To him, it all sounded like a comic book episode just waiting to be written.

"I'm blown away." Colt finally said. "Somehow, though, I know what you're telling me is true. Where was April during all this?"

"That's the thing." Kofi broke in. "She wasn't in the meeting, and from how it sounded, no one knew where she was."

"That's what we were coming to you to ask you." PJ told Colt. "We wanted to know if you heard from either April or Phil at all recently." Colt thought for a moment.

"Phil texted me that night during Raw when April was wrestling." Colt said. "That's the only time I heard from him. I didn't get a text from April recently. Sorry, Les. I don't even know where to begin looking." Celeste sighed.

"We don't either."

* * *

In Times Square, several groups of militia scanned the streets and buildings for anyone who may not have evacuated the area. The commander of the groups, Major Anderson Wilheim, stood by one of the buildings receiving updates on the groups' findings.

"Keep searching, Ames." Wilheim said to the Staff Sergeant he was speaking to. "I want to be certain every civilian has been evacuated from the area.

"Yes, sir!" Ames said after saluting. He then ran off to join his men in their continued sweep of Times Square.

"We only have three more sections to survey." Wilheim said to himself. "Then we'll be done for tonight. I wish they'd move faster." Moments later, Ames returned.

"Sir!" The man said. "I have important news."

"Well, spit it out!"

"Umm….I'm not quite sure how to say this, so I'll just say it. The WWE is coming this way." Wilheim blinked.

"Are you fucking serious right now, Ames?"

"I'm serious, sir. Also, Linda McMahon asked to speak to you directly." Wilheim furrowed his brow.

"Did you say Linda McMahon?"

"Yes sir."

"Get all your men and escort her and her group here immediately!" Ames nodded.

"Yes sir!" Wilheim heard Ames shouting "All hands come with me!" as he ran off to where he came from. Wilheim sighed.

"Dammit." He cursed to himself. "What the hell is she doing here?" Wilheim began pacing as he waited for Ames to come back with Linda and the others. Moments later, he heard marching off in the distance. Wilheim looked over to see Ames escorting the large group of Superstars and Divas to Times Square to meet with him. Wilheim walked to meet them all, most importantly Linda.

"I brought them here just liked you asked me, sir." Ames said to Wilheim.

"You may continue your mission, Ames." Wilheim replied, saluting Ames and sending him and his crew to look for more people. He then looked to Linda. "I see you brought your crew."

"I see you brought yours." Linda said.

"I was sent to oversee the evacuation mission. What are you doing here? Did the President send you to look after me again?"

"No, Anderson. I am here with personal matters." Wilheim furrowed his brow.

"The President didn't send you here?" he asked. "Then what are you all doing here?"

"She just told it is personal." Vince said with slight agitation. Linda raised her hand in front of him as a signal to silence.

"The people who caused this madness will be here tomorrow to negotiate business with me." Linda told Wilheim. "They won't be slacking in man power, obviously, so we won't be either."

"Why did you choose to come here?" Wilheim asked her. "We're working here. That negotiation is gonna be in our way."

"I was hoping you would be able to lend us assistance." Wilheim blinked.

"That goes against my protocol." He said.

"I know this. We need your help, Anderson. I need your help."

"Does the President know you're here?"

"What happens with this will be between us. No one will speak a word, and you will have the group who shot New York City right here for you to take down once we are done. Do that and you will be a national hero." Behind the two, Triple H leaned over to Stephanie.

"What is she doing?" He whispered.

"What she does best…" Stephanie replied. "She's negotiating." Wilheim sighed as he thought about Linda's offer. He looked at her.

"What's in it for you?" He asked her.

"Peace of mind and the safety of my family." Linda said with a smile. "Anything else will be additional gain." Wilheim pouted briefly.

"You know if I say no to you, that it will be my job, right? If the President gets a load of me denying you anything I'm getting chewed out, but something like this? I'm done." He dropped his arms lazily by his sides. "When are they gonna be here?"

"They should be here tomorrow evening." Linda said.

Behind one of the buildings out of sight, a reporter covered the occurrences. He and his cameraman hid behind a large dumpster.

"It appears that General Wilheim is speaking with Linda McMahon about something." He whispered into his microphone. "We can't make out what they are saying, however. Once we do, we'll get right back with you, Rick." The cameraman looked from behind his camera lens and gave the reporter a thumb's up. The reporter nodded and turned off his microphone. "Why the hell did I sign up for this, Jimmy? This is too tense."

"You're a good reporter, Mike." The cameraman known as Jimmy replied. "You got this."

"How am I supposed to get in close enough to hear what they're talking about over there?"

"We'll figure it out. Stop worrying so much!" The two men then heard footsteps rapidly approaching them.

"Oh shit!" Rick said.

"In the dumpster!" Mike said to him.

"What?"

"Get your ass in the dumpster!" Mike hopped into the dumpster and Rick followed after him. Moments after that, several people wearing black outfits filled up the alley way. Where the Superstars, Divas, and soldiers were conglomerated, Cesaro looked around.

"What's wrong, Claudio?" John Cena asked him.

"We are not alone here." Cesaro said. Brie overheard them speaking.

"What's going on?" she asked. They all then heard Linda speak.

"Be on your guard, everyone." She said, making Wilheim signal to his men.

"Surround the perimeter!" He said to his soldiers. They all then heard a voice and Linda knew who it was immediately.

"There's no need for all that." It was Viel. He, Aksana, Yakov, and several black-clad men and women were seen walking down Times Square to meet up with the conglomeration. The soldiers pointed their guns at them as they walked by. When they finally met with Linda, Wilheim, and the others Viel clapped his hands together.

"You're here early." Linda said as she stepped in front of Wilheim to meet face to face with Viel. The slender Russian man smiled.

"As are you." He said to her.

* * *

"Are you sure, Austin?" Kofi asked after Xavier told all of them that a news alert had come out saying that the WWE was conversing with the Special Forces in Times Square.

"That's gotta be them." Celeste insisted. "The news has been all over what's been happening. There's no reason for them to lie about something that sounds as stupid as that." Kofi thought for a moment.

"She has a point." Colt said.

"What are we gonna do?" Curtis asked.

"We're gonna go there and join them." Neville said. "We all need to be there!" It was then that Xavier got another alert. "What is it saying, Austin?"

"It says 'Reporter trapped during attack' and there's a video attached." Xavier said.

"Attack?" They all crowded around Xavier to see the video on his phone. It was video footage of the black-clad people that had surrounded Times Square.

"_I don't know who these people are,_" they all heard Mike say very quietly over the camera's microphone. "_But I know these people are not US natives. I will do my best to keep-_" The video ended, leaving the group worried.

"They need us, you guys." Rusev said to his friends.

"We don't know if we'll be enough help." PJ said. "We gotta call for help. I can start making calls and telling everyone it's urgent that they get here if they haven't seen the news yet."

"I know some people too." Colt said willingly. "I can call them."

"Good." Celeste said. "Colt. I need you and PJ to stay here and focus on making those calls please." PJ immediately detested.

"I'm not letting you go by yourself." He said.

"I'm going whether you like it or not." Celeste said plainly. "Besides, I won't be by myself. Everyone else is going, too. Please do this for me." PJ huffed.

"Alright." He said. "I want you to be safe for me and don't be a hero!" He then looked to the other five men. "You look after her!" They all nodded.

"Alright." Neville said to them. "Let's get going!" The group left, leaving Colt and PJ behind.

"I'm worried, man." Colt said to PJ.

"I am, too." PJ said.


	21. A Dark Betrayal of the Blind

**A/N: The wait is over! The next chapter is here! Hopefully I didn't keep you waiting too long. I'll try and update more often. Work kind of gets in the way. Enjoy!**

"I believe you have something for us." Viel said. Linda stepped aside and Vince walked past her and up to Viel and his group.

"Take this." He said to him as he handed him the blank check. "Write in any amount you want and I will pay it." Aksana looked at Viel in amazement as he examined the check.

"I'm amazed." Viel said to Vince. "Before you weren't willing to pay us a penny and now here you are giving us _every_ penny you own for the sake of your family. How touching." Viel then shook his head. "This isn't everything, however. I noticed April Brooks is not present in your little group here."

"I am giving you everything I own. Every penny! I can't give you a woman."

"We did not agree on these terms, Vince." Viel began to sound agitated and Linda was able to pick up on his tone. "Our agreement was one-point-four billion American dollars and April Brooks. Giving us everything you own is nice, but it's not what we asked for."

"I can't give you what you asked for! It's unreasonable! I cannot offer you a woman against her will!"

"You've already done it once when you let us experiment on her, Vince." Viel's statement struck a nerve of disdain in Phil.

"Yes." Vince replied. "Yes, I did. I was wrong to do that. I'm not going to do that again." Viel smirked and began to laugh.

"So you are going to give me everything you own to protect the woman you destroyed?" He asked. Vince nodded with his signature confidence.

"Yes." He said. "Yes I am! Take it all!" Stephanie placed her hands over her mouth in disbelief. The frugal man she knew as her father stood in front of all of them and gave away every dollar he worked for to repent for his ill-minded actions, an action the Vince McMahon of many decades ago would have done without question. She began to feel a sense of nostalgia in her nervously beating heart as they all waited for Viel's response to the offer.

"Very well then." Viel said simply. He then turned around and began walking away with Aksana and Yakov trailing close behind, leaving the group confused. It was then that Linda began to worry.

"Vince." She said as she watched the Russians continue to walk away. Cesaro, who had been watching the man carefully, noticed Vince reach in his blazer. It was then when Vince pulled out a gun and directed it at Linda. Cesaro's eyes widened.

"Linda!" Cesaro shouted. "Move!" Startled by his shouting, Linda turned around to see the barrel of Vince's gun pointed directly at her. She attempted to move but she was not quick enough. The shot fired and struck her in the head, causing her to fall to the ground motionless. Stephanie's heart broke instantly.

"Nooooooo!" She shouted as she rushed at her father and punched him in the temple with so much force it caused Vince to flip sideways and land awkwardly on his neck with an audible snap. As soon as the rest of his body hit the ground, Stephanie all but leapt on top of him and began to pummel his face with a violent barrage of punches. Another shot was fired from much further from them and everyone except for Stephanie drew their weapons.

"Take cover!" The Superstars and Divas heard Wilheim shout out. Triple H ran to grab Stephanie as the rest of the team followed Wilheim's orders.

"Come on, Steph!" He shouted as he pulled her off of the motionless Vince McMahon. Stephanie shouted vigorously and fought her husband with all her strength but was ultimately unable to break his grasp as he dragged her out of the soldiers' line of fire. Everyone made it down the alley Wilheim lead them all to.

"Let me go!" Stephanie shouted as she started to fight Triple H again.

"Stephanie, please." He begged.

"He shot my fucking mother! I'm gonna kill him! I'll fucking kill him! Fucking let me go, Paul!"

"Pull yourself together, McMahon!" Wilheim shouted. "You all brought these bastards here, so you need to focus on taking these guys down!"

* * *

Celeste and the others drove all the way back down to New York City without being stopped as most of the guards and soldiers were called to Times Square. Rusev looked behind him at Xavier.

"What is your phone saying?" He asked.

"Nothing yet." Xavier replied. "I know something's wrong, though. I can feel it."

"Well," Curtis started. "What the hell are we gonna do? I bet you anything they're all armed with a gun or something. We don't have anything. We just have arms and legs!"

"We gotta be able to do something, Curt." Kofi said. "They could be in danger." Rusev then heard a faint noise.

"Hey, hey, hey!" He said to his friends in an attempt to get them to quiet. He listened closer and was then able to identify the noise he heard. They were gunshots. "Guns!"

"From where?" Celeste asked.

"I don't know! I hear them coming from far away." Celeste cursed to herself.

"We're gonna have to get out of this van so that we aren't a moving target." Neville said to everyone. Curtis furrowed his brow.

"Get out?" he harped.

"You wanna sit in here and get shot at instead?" Curtis followed his friends out of the van and onto the then barren streets.

"Come on." Celeste said as she started running. "We gotta get to the others."

"We don't even know where they are!" Curtis claimed. They all heard gun shots.

"Just follow the noise." Xavier shrugged before following Celeste.

* * *

"That idiot!" Viel said in reference to Vince McMahon as he, Aksana, and Yakov ran for their get-away vehicle. "What the hell was he thinking? He was not supposed to shoot her!"

"He wasn't thinking, Viel!" Aksana harped as she rushed to get into the vehicle. "He never does!"

"Take us to the safe point!" Viel yelled to the driver. "We need to get everything together."

"Yes sir." The driver replied as he drove away from the battlefield.

"I knew this would happen." Aksana said.

Out in Times Square, the Superstars and Divas remained in the hidden alley as the American soldiers fought off the Russian soldiers.

"I say we just break nine-hundred and get out there!" Dean suggested hastily. "No sense in having guns we can't use!"

"No, Jon." Brie said. "We need a strategy."

"Fuck that! We'll be here all damned day!" Dean then proceeded to let out a vicious war cry then jump out of the alley and onto the battlefield.

"Goddammit, Jon!" Seth harped. Triple H quickly stood up from his crouched position.

"Colby!" He shouted. "I want you, Joe, and five others to help the front line of soldiers before they get overwhelmed." Naomi stood to her feet.

"Me and the boys'll help you out!" She said, referencing her husband and brother-in-law. The twin Usos stood up and readied their firearms.

"Hell yeah!" Jimmy Uso said.

"Nattie and I will join them." Tyson said as Natalya and he stood up.

"Alright!" Triple H said. "Keep your guard up and your radios on! Get out there!" Seth, Roman, Naomi, Jimmy, Jey, Tyson, and Natalya ran out to join Dean and the Soldiers. Dwayne then stood up making everyone look at him.

"I'm gonna need a team to take up the rear." He said.

"I'll go." Nikki said immediately. Brie looked at her.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes, Brie! That's why I'm here! Actually, If Dwayne didn't beat me to the punch, I would be in charge of this team!" Dwayne did his iconic eyebrow raise.

"That's how you feel?" he said to Nikki. "You're in charge then." Nikki smirked and then stood in front of Dwayne.

"Me and Brie need a team of nine to help compliment the team already out there." Nikki said with confidence and the assumption that Brie would be at her side. "We already have three in Dwayne and the two of us. I need seven more bodies!"

"You've got me!" Sami Zayn said as he stood to his feet. Dolph then stood up.

"I go where he goes." He said. "He's gonna need me to watch his stupid back."

"I'm with you guys!" Bo Dallas said to them.

"I got your back, Taylor." Bray Wyatt said.

"I will go with you!" Bayley said enthusiastically.

"Count me in!" Wade Barrett said. Nikki looked at her team.

"Alright, everybody." She said to them. "Let's go kick ass!" Nikki and her team ran out to join the rear guard as the rest of the group assembled.

"The rest of us are going to spread out and clear the surrounding area." Triple H ordered. "Remember. Keep your radios on." John Cena then noticed that Cesaro was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Claudio?" He asked openly. Everyone looked around.

"I ain't seen him." Wade replied.

"Great." Randy said sarcastically. "Chrome Dome's gone missing again. Guy's got perfect fuckin' timing, by the way."

"We can't worry about him right now." Stephanie said after a long silence, secretly upsetting John Cena with her comment. She readied her rifle. "We need to destroy these Russian bastards!" Stephanie ran out onto the battlefield.

"She's right." Triple H said to everyone else. "Let's get out there!" Everyone went out onto the battlefield. Everyone, that is, except for John Cena as the worry he felt for his missing comrade superseded the need for him to fight the McMahons' battle. John chose to search for Cesaro. He ran down the alley in the opposite direction from the battlefield. He readied his firearm in front of him and began scanning the area. A small group of Russian soldiers ran towards the battlefield, but upon seeing John Cena they prepared to kill him. They shot at John but he was able to duck behind a dumpster before firing shots of his own. John managed to hit one of the men in the chest and another in the leg before ducking back behind the dumpster. John then quickly stepped from behind the dumpster and emptied the magazine of his machine gun on the soldiers, the bullets penetrating them with violent vigor and killing them. John released the empty magazine and let it fall to the ground as he took a deep breath before putting in a full magazine. John did not hear the soldier behind him, however, until he heard the click of their rifle. John immediately turned around to shoot and defend himself but then heard a shot very close by and saw the soldier's chest open up with a massive and fatal bullet wound. The soldier dropped and behind them was Sasha Banks holding her recently fired rifle.

"What are you doing here?" John asked Sasha.

"You must've been expecting Randy to come help you, huh?" Sasha said as she hoisted her rifle back on her back and pulled out her pistol. "I just saved your ass!"

"Go back and help them, Mercedes." John said sternly. Sasha was beside herself.

"What?" Sasha said, genuinely surprised John knew who she was after only having brief conversations during shows. "John Cena actually knows my name? I'm truly shocked. But yeah, no. You woulda died just now if I weren't here to save you." Sasha popped the safety latch on her pistol so it would make an audible pop. "I got you. They'll be fine. Now, let's go find your boyfriend." John feigned a look of disdain.

"He's not my boyfriend." He said with a straight face. Sasha rolled her eyes.

"Sure, and my hair is naturally burgundy. A girl knows when a guy is seeing someone, John, and if she doesn't then she's got a problem. Trust me." Sasha then shrugged her shoulders. "Now what are you waiting on? Lead the way!" John took a deep breath before readying his gun and reverted back to continuing, with Sasha, in his search for Cesaro.

* * *

Celeste, Kofi, Rusev, Neville, Xavier, and Curtis continued their trek through a seemingly abandoned New York City, navigating through alleys and side streets as they followed the sounds of war. It was not long until they finally reached the outer streets of Times Square.

"We have to stay out of the line of fire until we can get weapons from the group." Neville suggested. They all then heard bullets flying above them and they ducked instinctively.

"We're gonna be useless here!" Kofi shouted after darting down one of the alleyways. "We don't have any guns or anything!"

"We need to make it to the group!" Celeste replied in matching volume. "If we can do that then we can be of some use."

"How will we do that safely with all of this commotion going on around us?" Rusev asked.

"We gotta stay low!" Curtis said. "They're firing high, so if we get low we'll be outta harm's way!" It was at that moment when they heard someone shout behind them in Russian. They turned to see a black clad Russian soldier pointing their firearm at them. Before the team could react, however, the soldier was struck in the head by a silenced bullet. All that was heard was the sound of their skull cracking on impact of the bullet and the splatter of brain matter as their lifeless body fell to the ground. The sight made both Celeste and Xavier, who had a slight case of hemophobia, yelp.

"What the actual fuck!?" Xavier shouted. Celeste immediately began running out of the alleyway frightened by the sight of the fallen soldier.

"Celeste!" Rusev called out. "Wait!"

"Let's go get her before she gets hurt!" Curtis said to the other men before they all proceeded to chase Celeste down. When they found her, she was cowering near a trash dumpster. Kofi knelt down hear her.

"Celeste." He said as he reached his hand out. "Come on."

"Look." Celeste said to him. "I know I was all Gung-Ho when I suggested we join them, but I was not ready for that! I don't think I'm ready for any of this."

"None of us are." Rusev said. "But we are here now. We have to go out there."

"I can't do this! That man got shot in the head! His head has a fucking hole in it! He is bleeding all over the street back there and I got blood and god knows what else on my face! I can't handle this!"

"Neither of us can, Les!" Kofi shouted. "We need to get the hell out there and help our team so we can finish this! That's the only way now! We came too far to turn around!"

"Kofi's right." Curtis agreed as he reached his hand out to Celeste. "We gotta finish this. Come on before we get caught out here." Celeste shut her eyes for a moment before grabbing Curtis' hand and allowing him to help her up. Austin placed his hand on Celeste's shoulder as if asking if she was okay, and Celeste nodded in response.

"Let's go." She said to her friends. Rusev pointed behind him.

"I saw them out in the middle of Times Square when we passed by an open alley." He told his friends.

"Let's get back there!" Neville said. With that, the group headed back to the alley Rusev spoke of to meet with the other Superstars and Divas.

* * *

The American soldiers, Superstars, and Divas had quickly gained the upper hand. As Dean and his group assisted the soldiers of the front line, Nikki and her group defended them from the rear. Just when it seemed like the enemy numbers were diminishing, however, more came to replace them as if the Russian soldiers were being mass-produced and sent out the moment their brethren fell. Nikki Bella fired her pistol at one soldier but missed. She went to reload but found she had used her last magazine.

"Shit!" she said to herself before quickly screaming for back up. Brie looked over at Nikki and saw the soldier aiming at her.

"Nikki!" Brie said as she ran to rescue her from imminent death. They both then heard a bullet fly through the soldier's head, causing blood and brain matter to splatter on the sisters' uniforms. Brie handed Nikki three pistol magazines.

"Use these!" Brie said to Nikki, who still seemed traumatized by the sight of the blood on her uniform. "Hurry, Nikki! Reload!" By that time, Becky Lynch had made her way over to the twins after hearing Nikki cry for help.

"Did you shoot him?" Becky quickly asked Brie.

"No." Brie answered. "Did you?"

"It doesn't matter!" Nikki harped. "He's dead now, so let's go help the others." The twins ran to the aid of Dwayne and Wade, both of whom looked to be overwhelmed. Becky began stripping the fallen Russian man of his weaponry. She didn't notice, however, that a soldier had her in his crosshairs. He aimed for her as she finished her deed, but was shot in the head much like his comrade. Becky looked up to see the man fall to the ground. Becky looked at him briefly wondering who shot him, but immediately turned away and averted her attention to catching up with her teammates.

* * *

The group of Celeste, Neville, Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, Curtis Axel, and Rusev continued to run down one of the longer alley ways to get to the rest of the group. Remarkably, they were not attacked again since the last attack near the dumpsters. However, that did not stop Kofi from growing impatient.

"I thought you said you saw down the alley?" Kofi questioned as they ran. "How could you see them with these alleys as long as they are?"

"I can see the opening from here." Rusev replied.

"What are we gonna do?" Neville asked. "Just run out there and tackle the nearest enemy we find?" They all stopped a distance away from the end of the alley in order to regroup.

"If we all go out at the same time," Rusev began. "We will become a large target."

"Miro's right." Celeste said. "We can't stay together when we go out there. We'll have to split up and help out where we can. Agreed?" Everyone nodded. Rusev then looked over and saw a familiar woman garbed in makeshift military attire trying to fight off two attackers holding knives. The woman he saw was Lana. The sight of his dear friend struggling to defend herself infuriated him almost instantly.

"Catherine!" Rusev shouted in his loud, thick Russian accent as he furiously ran to her aid much to his friends' discord. Lana instinctively looked in the direction she heard her name called in and saw Rusev all but charging through everyone. Doing so, however, left her vulnerable for one of the soldiers to slash her arm. The burn of the blade made Lana wince and grab the affected area and her motion only made Rusev angrier. He clotheslined the culprit, leaving the other attacker stunned. Lana took the opportunity to expertly steal the man's knife from him and stuck it in his neck, leaving the man fighting to breathe past the metal fatally lodged into him. Rusev then turned around and headbutted the soldier with enough force to knock him to the ground as he aimlessly fought to breathe. He looked at Lana and was surprised by her attire.

"What are you wearing?" He asked her.

"Never mind that!" Lana shouted. "What are you doing here, Miroslav?"

"You were in trouble so I came for you. I am not alone."

"You must leave, Miroslav! You could be hurt out here!" He grabbed Lana's unharmed arm.

"I was wrong to walk away from this." He told her. "We all were. We're here to help." Lana looked around and saw that Curtis, Xavier, Neville, Celeste, and Kofi had already joined the fight against the Russians. Rusev then saw another soldier aiming his firearm at the two of them.

"Catherine!" He shouted before pushing her out of the way and falling to the ground himself just before the soldier fired. The bullet missed Lana but grazed Rusev's right shoulder. The man rolled on his back in pain as Lana pulled out her pistol and shot at the soldier, hitting him in the knee and causing him to fall. Lana then quickly turned to aid Rusev.

"Let me see." She said. He turned over to show her the wound. "You are fine. The bullet didn't hit you." Lana removed the wrap she used to tie her hair up with to cover Rusev's shoulder. She then proceeded to pull her rifle off her back and give it to him. "Can you use this?"

"Yes I can." Rusev answered. He took the rifle and hoisted it on his good shoulder.

"Good. I will be your cover." Lana said as she loaded a full magazine into her pistol.

* * *

At their safe point, Viel's group of men and women sat around him in silence as he stood in place with his hands folded. Aksana wore an expression on her face that rivaled a mother who worried for her child.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked in Russian.

"I told no one." Viel replied.

"So our men are fighting while you wait to put these weapons to use?" Yakov said to Viel.

"It is bad enough we had to resort to violence to begin with, Yakov!" Viel harped. "I never wanted that. This was all meant to persuade them to do what is right and give us what they owe. This isn't just about our money anymore. We are at war with America now, and it is because of that idiot Vincent McMahon!" Viel threw the pen he had in his hand down with such force the pen snapped in two the moment it connected with the ground. Yakov waited a brief moment before bringing something up to all of them.

"We will all run out of ammo at this rate." He said. "Our side before theirs. If you intend to deploy them-"

"We will not do that!" Viel snapped back. "This country must not find out!" Aksana had gotten tired of her brother's state of mind. She stood up from her seat, walked up to him, and slapped him across the face.

"I've followed your every decision, Viel." She harped. "I supported your decision to gather a military force for occasions like this one. I supported your choice to build weapons against the Prime Minister's wishes. I supported you when you offered Vince McMahon our services after what he did to me. I even went along with you wanting to kill the McMahons for everything they've done to us and everything they owe us. So much so, in fact, that it began to interest me more than just forgetting about them and the WWE. Now, you say that you merely did all of this work and played all these mind games with all of us just to 'persuade' them? That is bullshit!"

"Who the hell do you think you are!?" Viel shouted.

"I'm your sister! I've known you all my life! You are doing exactly what you did when father was in charge! You are backing out when the fire gets too high for you!" With that, Aksana started walking out of the tent and bumped her brother on the way.

"Where are you going, Zivile?" Viel asked her.

"You wanted father dead," Aksana started. "But you were too weak to do it yourself so I did it for you. Now, you want the McMahons dead for not giving us what we are owed but you now want to back out for one reason or another. If you will not follow through with this now that we are facing it, I will!" Aksana stormed out of the tent with everyone else's eyes on her.

"Follow her." Viel told his men. "I don't want anything to happen to my sister." The soldiers in the tent did as they were told, leaving Viel and Yakov alone. Viel turned to notice Yakov staring at him. "Are you going to follow her?"

"You need me here." Yakov said. "Zivile does make a point, however. You should not have gone through all of this trouble if you simply intended to scare the McMahon family. We could have frightened them from Russia. If we lose here, we will not be able to return home. The world will have our heads. If we win against the McMahons and the Americans then they will fear us and you will not have to worry about going to these extremes again." Viel took a deep breath.

"Every time I decided to act on something," he started. "I choked like I did just now, and Zivile was there to cover for me each and every time. I am no more fit to run our business than Father was. Zivile should have been the one in my position and me in hers."

"Do what you say you will do and quit running." Yakov said. "That is the real answer. We are all here even with knowing what could happen. You led us here. Lead us back home." Yakov walked past Viel.

"Now you are leaving." Viel said, making Yakov stop.

"I am standing outside the tent to keep watch." He said before continuing outside, leaving Viel alone in the tent. He put his hand in his coat pocket to retrieve something but his expression changed when what he was looking for was not present. It then dawned on him what happened to it.

"No…."

Some distance away from the tent, Aksana continued walking towards a tall abandoned building. When she and the soldiers who followed her made it to the door, she looked back at them.

"I figured Viel would send you false guardians after me." Aksana said. "Get up there and patrol the building." The soldiers walked into the building and began doing as they were told. Aksana then pulled out what appeared to be a remote with two buttons labeled "on" and "off" in Russian and a small switch in between them labeled "hold." She then shook her head and looked back behind her. "I have to do everything myself." Aksana pressed the "on" button and an audible beep was heard. She then flipped the switch and put the remote back in her pocket. Aksana walked inside the building and hid herself from sight….


	22. The Woman With the Iron Heart

The Russian force seemed to be slowly dwindling down in numbers. Still outnumbering the Superstars and Divas, however, they held their own. Randy Orton managed to fend off most of his attackers but ended up running out of ammunition in the process of doing so.

"Out of ammo over here!" He yelled to his comrades before punching one of the Russian soldiers. The remaining soldiers as well as others began to overwhelm Randy with punches and kicks until Phil ran to Randy's aid. He broke the neck of the soldier who held Randy at bay then leapt up to catch one soldier with a headscissor takedown, jamming his knife into the man's chest when he hit the ground and pulling it out to cause him to begin bleeding out. One soldier struck Phil in the back of the head once, causing him to stumble slightly but not enough to throw him onto the ground. The attacker attempted to strike again but it was countered by Phil as he ducked and reached up to grab the soldier's arm, position himself to wrap his legs around the soldier's neck, and applying enough pressure to audibly snap the man's neck and cause him to fall limp. Randy used the pistol to hit a soldier aiming to attack Phil. The man fell to the floor with a thud and Phil jammed the bloody knife into the back of the soldier's head. Randy looked at Phil.

"Thanks man!" Randy said.

"Don't mention it!" Phil said. "Where's John?" Randy shrugged.

"Don't know. Can't worry bout 'em right now!" Phil smirked.

"Guess I'm fightin' with you then." Phil handed Randy ammunition for his pistol and covered for him as he loaded it.

"Cover me!" Phil said to Randy as they proceeded to assist Curtis Axel, Natalya, and Tyson Kidd in fending off other soldiers.

Taking cover behind a piece of destroyed building, Stephanie, Triple H, and Major Wilheim looked to make sure no enemies were coming.

"Where are the rest of your soldiers, Major?" Stephanie harped. "We're running out of supplies and the Russian force isn't getting any smaller."

"I don't know where they are!" Wilheim told her. "I told the President that it was a matter of Security!" The three heard shots bounce off of the fixture they hid behind and ducked instinctively.

"We need to finish this before it gets out of hand!" Triple H yelled through the noise. A group of Russian soldiers ran to the side of the fixture and aimed to shoot the three leaders before they were pummeled by bullets coming from the opposite direction. Triple H looked over to see a tall muscular man, and shorter man, and a much shorter Latina. The three were dressed in what looked like police force body armor. The tall man was holding a large bag and the woman was holding the rapid-fire pistol that took out the soldiers. Stephanie took a closer look at the two as they ran to catch up to them.

"You hurt?" The man asked them.

"No." Wilheim answered. "Who are you three?"

"Michael Hutter." Stephanie said, naming the man known as Ethan Carter III in the wrestling universe. She then looked to the shorter man and woman. "She is Melina Perez, and he is Johnny Hennigan. They all worked for the WWE some years ago. Who sent you here?"

"Scott Colton called me and told me what was going on and said you guys needed help." Ethan answered. "So I called some of my police buddies, got some gear, called Johnny and told him what was up, and here we are hours later."

"Thank you." Stephanie said graciously. "All of you."

"The others should be here any time now." Melina told the three leaders.

"What others?" Triple H asked. Before he could get his answer, however, a grenade went off near them and the explosion cause them all to take cover.

"Just take the supplies!" Melina said to them. "We'll help everyone else!" Triple H, Stephanie, and Wilheim all agreed, drew their weapons and headed for a safer location while Ethan, Johnny, and Melina surveyed the area.

"Big guy's in a bit of trouble." Ethan said as he pointed at Ryback who looked to be fighting off a handful of soldiers. "I got him."

"Alright!" Johnny said. "Me and Melina'll help the Army guys out. Be safe out there, Mike!" Ethan nodded and the three went their separate ways.

Ryback fought the soldiers off of him, firing shots from his pistol and using clotheslines and punches for fend off the men who got close. One soldier managed to cut Ryback across the back with a machete causing the much larger man to wince in pain. Another soldier cut his left leg and the Big Guy fell to one knee. Ethan arrived in time to shoot the soldier who cut Ryback in the head and hit another with a shoulder tackle with enough force to knock the soldier over and cause him to roll awkwardly several feet. He then shot the remaining men with a spray of bullets. Ethan turned to tend to Ryback.

"You alright?" He asked him.

"Just a flesh wound." Ryback stated. "Aren't you that dude with TNA?"

"What does that matter?"

"Ya helped me out so it doesn't mean shit to me. I was just asking. Thanks, by the way." Ethan shrugged.

"Don't mention it." He said as he tore off some of his shirt to use as a bandage for the cut on Ryback's leg. "Sit and let me tie this." Ryback did as he was asked and the cloth was tied. Ethan stood up and quickly handed Ryback a rifle and a belt of bullets. "Here. Let's go help the others!"

The group of Bayley, Becky, Dwayne, and Steve were back to back covering each other's fire. Becky, Dwayne, and Steve then heard a wild scream. The scream came from Bayley as she emptied a magazine into a single fallen soldier with a unnatural smile on her face. Becky pulled Bayley down to her knees.

"Pam!" Becky called out. "Don't get used to this! This is a one-time event!" Steve quickly glanced around and caught a soldier aiming what looked like a rocket launcher at them.

"Duck!" He yelled to his comrades, making them all take cover. They all heard an explosion, and Bayley looked to see what the soldier hit. She noticed the spot where the soldier was standing was engulfed in flames so she looked back to see what caused it and was shocked at what she saw.

"I think we have reinforcements!" Bayley shouted. Her three teammates looked up to see Celeste's husband PJ, Robert Szatkowski (known in the wrestling universe as Rob Van Dam or RVD), Amy Dumas who was known as Lita, and Patricia Stratigeas who was known as Trish Stratus. All of them were dressed in the armor Ethan, Johnny, and Melina wore and RVD held the grenade launcher responsible for the explosion.

"You guys alright?" PJ asked them. Dwayne gave him a hand gesture signaling that they were unharmed. "We brought some ammo for ya! Hope you can use it."

"What the hell is going on?" Lita asked the group.

"Sorry, Miss Lita!" Bayley said. "But we don't have time to fill you in! We have to hurry up and finish this before we all run out of ammo."

"That's inevitable on the road we're trackin'!" RVD stated. "Looks like they keep coming back with more guys." Dwayne hoisted his rifle over his shoulder.

"We're gonna have to keep killing 'em then!" he said. Trish patted him on the back.

"Let's get to it then!" she said. "I'll go help Trinity and the twins."

"I'll go with you." Becky insisted.

"Me and Amy'll go play cavalry with Randy and Phil." PJ told them.

"Rocky and I will protect Paul, Steph, and the Major." Steve said.

"Then me and Bayley will help out the Bellas." RVD said. Everyone broke off to complete their missions.

* * *

John Cena and Sasha Banks ran down the road until they saw a building being guarded by men off in the distance. They hid behind the closest building to them to keep from being seen.

"I bet you my hair that Claudio's in there." Sasha said. "You think he was kidnapped?" John shook his head.

"You've got to be a genius to outsmart Claudio." John explained. "Whatever the case, those look like Russian soldiers. If he isn't in there then someone of importance is. We gotta get in that building and check it out."

"We don't how deep those guys are in there."

"There's only one way to find out." John proceeded to move forward towards the guarded building.

"We don't have a plan!" Sasha said before huffing. "Damned meat head!" She followed John to the building and they both hid out of sight when it looked like they would be caught. The Russian soldiers looked back after hearing noise near them.

"Did you hear something?" One soldier asked the other in Russian. The other soldier shrugged. They were both then attacked by John Cena and Sasha Banks, the two snapping their necks and Sasha jumping at the fallen man.

Inside the building, the Russian soldiers scattered in an effort to secure it and make sure no enemies were within its confines. Aksana stood near the stairwell while her soldiers scurried about. One of the soldiers came to her and lead her into the stairwell.

"Stand in here, Miss Zivile." The soldier said in Russian. "You will be out of sight here." Aksana rolled her eyes but did as she was told. The soldier then continued the sweep of the building with his comrades. Half of the soldiers stayed on the ground floor with Aksana while the other half met in the stair well on the ninth floor.

"Did any of you find anything?" One soldier asked the other eleven soldiers of the group in the stairwell. They all answered negative. "Let us continue. We are almost to the top." That moment, the soldiers headed up the stairs and to the tenth floor. They walked out of the stair well to see a hallway lined with what appeared to be office spaces. The leader of the group looked back and signaled for his fellow soldiers to begin searching the spaces. Before they started their search, however, the flickering lights disappeared completely and left the soldiers in the dark muttering obscenities as they fumbled to find their flashlights. The first soldier to find his flashlight shined it behind him to briefly see a black-clad man wearing night-vision goggles. The rest of the soldiers then heard what sounded like metal cutting through flesh and saw the flashlight fall to the ground. Two of the soldiers fired their pistols in the direction where their comrade was standing, the flashes of light revealing that the man had been decapitated. They all then heard a couple more slashes before one of the soldiers shined their flashlight in the direction where they heard the noise. The soldiers found the severed remains of two of their comrades; one of them had been decapitated and the other had been cut in half at the waist. One of the soldiers heaved at the sight of the severed bodies but the sounds of his actions were replaced by an abrupt slice.

"Where the hell are they?" One soldier asked in reference to the person killing them off.

"Back downstairs!" The leader shouted to the remaining soldiers. "Now!" With one functioning flashlight, the soldiers headed for the stair well. The soldiers, however, were all shot in the back of the head one by one with the flash of the attacker's gun lighting up the area for a millisecond each time it was fired. The last man standing pulled a small remote out of one of the compartments of the utility belt he wore, pressed the single button on it, and the flickering light regained power and turned back on. The then blood covered man was revealed to be Cesaro clad in black fatigues wielding a pistol on his left hip and a unique straightened sword whose equally unique mechanical sheath rested on Cesaro's right hip. He removed his night vision goggles and looked around at the remains of the soldiers he had slain with a cold look of malice before withdrawing his sword and turning back down the hallway. He walked into the office to the right that contained an open window and at the foot of the window sat a semi-automatic sniper rifle and a belt of bullets. Cesaro snatched up the belt and fastened it over his right shoulder then grabbed the rifle and slung it over his left shoulder. He then briefly looked through the window; it offered him a clear view of the battlefield and the action below. Afterwards, he ran over to the office across from the one he was in and looked out of its window; it offered a view of Aksana and her group before they had entered the building. Cesaro ran out of the office room and headed for the stair well, stopping at the door to turn around and take a deep breath.

Outside the building, Aksana felt for the fallen soldiers' pulses outside the building as her group waited for a verdict. She then stood up and turned to face them.

"We're done here." Aksana said. "Go out there and assist our brothers. Tell the other group to follow you." The soldiers did as they were told and headed for the battlefield, leaving Aksana by herself to assess the situation. She decided to go back to Viel and tell him about her actions and the loss of the two soldiers. Aksana turned around and headed back in the direction of their safe area.

On the side of the building, John and Sasha hid and watched as all of the soldiers passed their line of sight. John peeked out to see if any soldiers were left.

"Coast is clear." He said to Sasha, and the two stepped out with their weapons readied to fire. Just as they were about to lower their guns, they heard the doors to the building swing open and the two pointed their guns at the man who stepped out. They immediately lowered them when they discovered the man was Cesaro. John felt an overwhelming relief as he instinctively ran up to Cesaro and hugged him tightly. Sasha looked at the two men with a smugly twisted look on her face.

"Dammit, Claudio!" John said. "You had me worried fucking sick!"

"Why?" Sasha asked sarcastically with prying eyes. "I mean, he's grown and it's not like he's your boyfriend or anything right?" John glared at Sasha.

"I apologize for running off, John." Cesaro said. "However, I knew we would need eyes in places other than Times Square. I came here to act as our sniper." Sasha smiled.

"Nice." She said to Cesaro. "I'm really impressed now." John saw Cesaro's expression change.

"We must go back and help our friends." Cesaro said in a serious tone.

"Yeah!" Sasha agreed. "Let's do it!"

* * *

Yakov stood outside of the safe area tent guarding Viel and the material inside. He watched and scanned the area attentively as a unfamiliar wind began to stir. Yakov looked out into the distance and saw a figure calmly walking towards him. Upon seeing it, he placed his hand on the pistol at his side. As the figure drew closer Yakov was able to make out features and then knew that the person approaching was Aksana, so he withdrew his hand and relaxed. Aksana approached Yakov and drew in closer than she normally would, making Yakov tense a bit.

"I know this is not the time for this, Yakov," Aksana said in Russian as she walked around Yakov with her hands on his muscular shoulders. "But I have never told you just how brilliant I think you are." Yakov struggled to gather his thoughts together as Aksana continued her awkward gestures.

"Where is this coming from, Miss Zivile?" Yakov said in broken Russian as he felt Aksana's hands roam his backside. Aksana then straightened up to lean over his shoulder.

"This is just something I wanted to do ever since I set my eyes on you. If I wait any longer I may not have the opportunity." Yakov then felt a sharp pain on the side of his neck opposite of where Aksana chose to rest her head. He then felt a pain in his chest and collapsed as the feeling left his legs and arms. Aksana stood over him with Yakov's pistol that she had taken while he was distracted, and she watched as the life slowly drained out of her former comrade after she injected him with poison. She then set her eyes on the tent behind her and entered to see her brother facing away from her. Viel turned around expecting to see Yakov enter the tent. When he saw Aksana he felt relief knowing his sister was unharmed, but also felt unnerved as none of the soldiers he sent to guard her were present.

"Zivile." He said in Russian. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine, dear brother." Aksana replied calmly. Her simple reply instilled Viel with a sense of worry.

"Where are the soldiers? Where is Yakov?"

"I sent the soldiers out onto the battlefield. Yakov went to use the bathroom, I presume." Viel then thought about something for a moment before turning back around away from Aksana.

"Did you do it?" He asked her.

"You can thank me later, Viel." Viel immediately angered.

"I said we were not going to use them!" He shouted at her. "What have you done?"

"I gave this failing business of ours stability!" She shouted back. "The route you were going was not the right one so I took charge."

"Dammit, Zivile." Aksana took offense.

"Oh?" Aksana said. "You think you could have done a better job then? You haven't shown any of us that you are capable of running the family business anywhere but into the ground!"

"I was making decisions to better our business!"

"Coaxing Vince to do business with us and scheme him into giving us that god forsaken woman? Secretly building weapons? Those were my ideas! Everything that has happened is my doing! All you've done was play the figurehead and show up while all our men have been slaughtered!" Viel then sighed as he tired of yelling. He faced away from Aksana.

"You are right." He said calmly. "It was your idea to coax Vincent McMahon into coming to us with making a growth serum after he trusted you with his desire to create it. It was you who swayed Vincent into offering April Mendez, the number one woman of the WWE, as a test subject for the serum after Vincent let you go and destroyed your dream. It was you who suggested we hire Fedoseev's only daughter to enter the WWE to follow the woman you believed single-handedly replaced you in the company. It was your idea to gather these jobless soldiers after the Prime Minister of Mother Russia declined your request to gather military forces. It was your idea to secretly hire our most prestigious creators to create weapons against the Prime Minister's wishes. It was your idea to bring this force here to this country. I now realize that Father's death was not because he stole money from the business. You convinced me that he stole from us after he chose against your wish for us to take the WWE away from the McMahon family and gave me his position as head of the business instead of you." Viel turned around to face his sister. "Before you left you said you supported all of my decisions when it was me who supported your scorn and your desire to destroy the McMahon family for firing you, and I allowed you to use my position and our family's money to your liking like a marionette. Here we are, Zivile. We are in America with our business soon to be in the spotlight and our country disowning us all once they hear of what we have done. You are right. Everything that has happened is because of you. I was simply a pawn in your vindictive game." Viel turned away from Aksana once more. "We cannot play this game anymore. Your game has taken away our business, our family, and our home. The worst is that I knew about all of this and said nothing to protect our family from you. I followed you like the weak brother." Viel faced Aksana once again. "No more, Zivile. We must turn ourselves in and end this." Aksana scoffed at Viel's suggestion.

"You have gone mad!" She harped. Aksana then felt her brother pull her into a gentle embrace.

"Enough is enough, Zivile." Viel said calmly. "This is all senseless. We must face the consequences of our actions here and stop this before we dishonor our family name greater than we already have. We still have time to make this right." Aksana took a deep breath. It was then that Viel heard a silenced bullet go off and felt a burning sensation in his abdomen. He pulled away from his sister and felt the life draining from his body. Viel fell in front of Aksana to one knee and saw the culprit – Yakov's pistol in the hand of his cold-hearted sister. As the strength faded away from him and vision began to lessen, he heard her speak.

"Why couldn't you be strong like Father was?"

* * *

The Superstars and Divas on the battlefield were fighting on against the Russian soldiers when John Cena, Cesaro, and Sasha Banks rejoined them to assist Bayley, RVD, and the Bella twins. They were all relieved to see the trio.

"I'm glad you're okay!" Bayley said to her friends as she dropped one of the soldiers.

"When'd you get here, Rob?" John asked RVD.

"Scott called me and told me what was going on." RVD replied.

"Celeste's hubby, Trish, Lita, Johnny Nitro, Melina, and Ethan Carter are helping, too!" Bayley said, choosing to call the wrestlers by their Universe names.

"No shit?" John said. "Good! We need all the help we can get." The group then noticed that the Russian soldiers began to stop fighting them until no one exchanged fire. The Superstars and Divas gathered together in the middle of the field, all of them protecting Triple H, Stephanie, and Major Wilheim.

"What the hell is going on?" Dean asked. "Why the fuck did they stop fighting?"

"We don't know." Stephanie said. "Just stay on guard."

"They've gotta be surrendering." Bray Wyatt claimed.

"They aren't raising their hands, man." Wilheim said to him.

"Major's right." Phil agreed. "They ain't giving up." It was then that everyone began to understand why the Russian soldiers stopped fighting. The Superstars and Divas felt what felt like a mild earthquake.

"What the hell is going on?" Sami Zayn asked nonchalantly. Nikki Bella began to assume this was a distraction played by the Russian army to throw them off their defense.

"Ready up, everyone!" Nikki yelled, causing all of them to arm their guns and weapons. A look of bewilderment fell upon their faces as they all then saw what looked like metallic soldiers positioning themselves in every alley that surrounded the field until all the alleys were blocked by several of them. Brie then saw Aksana, the woman behind the summoning of the iron soldiers, walk towards the center of Times Square with one of the iron soldiers at her side.

"Look there!" Brie pointed out.

"Is that…" Melina said in sheer surprise. "Aksana? She's helping the Russians?"

"She and her brother put this crap together." Triple H said. Aksana had finally made her way to stand in front of all of them, a cold expression on her face.

"Where's your brother, Zivile?" Stephanie asked her.

"He is a coward." Aksana replied. "We will not speak of him any longer." She then turned to the tall metal man standing next to her. "We will talk about your deaths at the hands of the Iron Soldiers. The brilliant minds of Russia came together to create these for us, for me."

"Why are you doing this?" Stephanie asked Aksana. The question alone angered the Lithuanian-born woman.

"Why?" Aksana said. "Why am I doing this? I will tell you why, Stephanie McMahon! Your family took my dream away from me! You brought me here only to send me home in shame! My family believed in me! They were proud of me and everything I had accomplished and you stripped that away from me!" Aksana then narrowed her eyes. "Now…I'm going to strip you and your family of their useless lives." Phil, who had grown tired of hearing Aksana complain, jumped out from his place in the group.

"Phil!" Wade Barrett shouted. "Stop!" His cries fell upon deaf ears.

"You stupid fucking bitch!" Phil screamed. "All these lives, all this meaningless fighting, and all these fucking games because you got fired!? I lost my wife because of you!" Aksana laughed.

"You lost your wife because of your own selfish ways!" Aksana claimed. "You should only stayed by her side." Phil furiously ran for Aksana but before he could reach her, the Iron Soldier punched him so hard on the side of his face that was sent flying towards a slab of the destroyed ground that had been lifted by the battle.

"Phil!" Celeste shouted in horror. Everyone then witnessed his body stop abruptly mere inches away from fatally connecting with the asphalt. Phil dropped carefully to the ground in a daze from both the hit to his face and the question of how he managed not to die. He looked up to see a white-hooded figure walking past him the head of one of the Iron Soldiers in their hand. Everyone watched as the person continued their walk towards them in the center of Times Square. That moment they all heard what sounded like the roar of a large feline and a faint light appeared next to the cloaked individual. Out of the light emerged a tiger with pearl white fur. The person stopped and dropped the head of the Iron Soldier as they rubbed the tiger's chin. The person stood up straight, faced the people who stared, and removed their cloak to reveal a short woman with unmistakable raven hair, tan skin, and sienna eyes wearing piercing white military fatigues. Phil was on the verge of tears as the pearl tiger let out a tremendous roar.

"April…!"


	23. Enough

**A/N: Well, this is the second to last chapter of this fic. I am sad to see this one end as I enjoyed writing it for you all. I hope you enjoyed reading it. I'll be doing spin-offs to elaborate on how everyone is doing after the events of this. I just want to thank you all for supporting the story. You helped me continue it, and with a schedule like mine, that was no easy feat. Thank you, and enjoy. **

AJ stood with her pearl tiger staring at Aksana with menacing eyes before turning her gaze away from her and looking at her husband whom was sitting on the ground fighting back a heavy fall of tears. She calmly walked up to him and knelt to down to look him in the eyes.

"I'm so sorry, babe." Phil said immediately. "It's my fault all this happened to you! It's my fault." AJ hugged him as tight as she could.

"No, Phil." AJ said to him. "I left you. I left everyone. For that, I'm sorry. None of this would have happened if I were here to help you deal with it."

"I'm just glad you're alive! I won't leave your side again. I promise you that!" Phil then felt warmth beside him. He looked to see AJ's tiger nuzzling beside him as if trying to console him. The instant terror he felt was replaced by serenity.

"Jagi won't hurt you." He heard AJ say in his head. "He is with us now. He was my guardian while I was away." Phil blinked as Jagi stared into his eyes and slowly blinked as a sign of respect. Jagi then lowered his head and allowed Phil to place his hand on him. He and AJ then stood to their feet and they turned their attention to Aksana. The trio started to walk up to the woman and Aksana immediately angered.

"You…." She started as she clinched her fists. "…bitch."

"You brought all this on yourself, Zivile." AJ said to Aksana. "You were so bent on getting Vince back for what he did that it led you to do stuff you know nothing about. Look around you. Everything here is the way it is because of your so called revenge. I have to thank you, though, because I would not be who I am now if it weren't for you and your stupidity. Aksana's rage and her hatred for AJ reached its breaking point.

"Kill them!" Aksana shouted. The Russian soldiers aimed all of their guns at the Superstars and Divas, all of whom armed their weapons and prepared themselves for defense. That moment, they all witnessed the Russians' weapons disintegrate in their hands.

"Whoa." Becky said.

"What the hell?" Seth said with an equal amount of surprise. They then looked over to see Phil, AJ, and Jagi walking closer towards them, AJ's eyes shining with a vibrant crystal blue hue. Aksana began to breathe heavily then looked at her men.

"You worthless bastards!" She shouted before letting out a scream that rivaled the tiger's roar. "Kill them all! Kill all of them!" It was then that the idol Iron Soldiers armed themselves and fired crimson lasers that pierced through everything they touched. Everyone braced themselves to be devoured by the lasers but instead they were met with a mixture of red, blue, and violet lights. They all saw AJ, Phil, and Jagi standing in front of him. AJ turned her head slightly.

"Join them, Phil." AJ said to her husband. Phil obliged as he stared at the force field with the others in awe. Jagi then growled and bared its teeth.

"What the fuck?" Dean shouted.

"Now Jagi!" AJ said to her companion. Her tiger then let out a monstrous roar and the energy field exploded in a bright light, the energy emitted from the blast destroying the Iron Soldiers and knocking Aksana off of her feet. When the light dissipated, the woman saw the Superstars and Divas along with both the American soldiers and the remaining Russian soldiers standing tall in front of her with AJ standing in front of them all. Aksana looked at them with both rage and discreet fear.

"You tried to kill your own men." Steve Austin pointed out. "Talk about fucking desperate."

"Shut the hell up, you sentient fossil!" Aksana spat at Steve. "I have hundreds more Iron Soldiers at my disposal. I don't need them anymore anyway." The leader of the Russian force looked at his former leader in shock.

"You tried to kill us, Miss Zivile?" He asked Aksana in broken English.

"You are useless to me now." Aksana replied in Russian. "You'll be exiled from Russia after they hear of what you've all done here, so there is no greater honor than for you to die on the battlefield." Rusev spoke up next.

"She is a heartless woman with no soul!" He shouted in his native Russian tongue. "She betrayed your trust and attempted to take your lives. Place no honor in her judgment!"

"They are expendable!" Aksana shouted in Russian. "They knew that when my brother hired them!"

"Your brother treated us like humans and not like a bullet in a gun." The Russian man said. "This man is right. We can place no honor in your judgment, Miss Zivile!"

"My Iron Soldiers are all I need. Having hundreds of them replaces the need for millions of you!" To everyone's surprise, AJ spoke next.

"You still have time to surrender, Zivile." She said in Russian, catching Aksana off guard. "Give up before you cause yourself anymore harm." Behind her, Wade nudged Phil's arm.

"When did she learn Russian?" He asked him. Phil could only shrug his shoulders. Aksana narrowed her eyes at the petite woman.

"You are the reason I had to go back home and face my family in failure." Aksana said to AJ. "I will not give up until you breathe no more." Aksana then smiled.

"What the hell are you laughing at, Chica?" Dwayne asked her, a hint of agitation in his voice.

"You want me to surrender?" Aksana started. "I say no." It was then that everyone witnessed hundreds more Iron Soldiers approach Times Square and surround the area. The American and Russian soldiers looked on in horror as the androids continued to fill the battlefield. The group then saw a black Iron Soldier land in front of Aksana. As it moved to stand beside her, Aksana looked at them and said, "And so do they!"

"We have a problem here." Ethan stated.

"No shit!" Dean said. "Yo Paul! Stephanie! What do we do?"

"We need to get these men outta here." Wilheim stated. AJ then attached herself to Major Wilheim's mind.

"Use line four-eighty-three to call for rescue units." AJ said in his mind. "Tell them to meet all of you on Twelfth Avenue in fifteen minutes." Without thinking, Wilheim pulled out his radio receiver and dialed for the station AJ specified.

"What are you doing?" Triple H asked him.

"He is calling for rescue units." AJ answered. "You all need to leave here now. Let me handle this." Phil immediately detested.

"Oh no!" He said. "We are not leaving each other again!"

"Phil." AJ started before being halted by her husband.

"No, Apes. I lost you once. I'm not losing you again."

"You won't lose me, Phil."

"That's right cause I'm stayin'!"

"Phil." Stephanie called out. "We have to go. Let her handle this."

"No Stephanie! I'm not leaving without April!" Wilheim then chimed in.

"We've got fifteen minutes to get to Twelfth Avenue so the rescue team can get us outta here!" He stated. Phil then saw AJ turn to face him and he noticed her eyes were the same crystal color they were when she used her abilities but they looked to be slowly transitioning back to their normal state. He also noticed her nose had begun to bleed slightly. He looked around and noticed that neither the Iron Soldiers nor Aksana were moving. They seemed to be frozen in time.

"Phil." Phil heard AJ say to him. "Please. I won't be able to protect you from these robots and I don't want you to get hurt. If you stay here I could lose you." That moment, Phil realized that AJ had been using her mind to hold Aksana and her massive metal army in place as if she had stopped time. He began to breathe heavy as he thought about what AJ holding all of them at bay could have been doing to her.

"I promised you I wouldn't leave your side again and I meant that." Phil said as he grabbed AJ's hand. "I don't want you to worry about me, though. I trust you, babe." He then let go of her hand and kissed her passionately. "I love you, April. Come back home, alright?" AJ smiled.

"I will." She said. "I promise." AJ then looked down at Jagi and rubbed the top of his head. "Look after Phil for me." Jagi then joined Phil's side and his face then filled with determination as Jagi and he turned to face his comrades.

"April's stopping the robots for us." He told them. "We gotta go now before she loses her grip!" Seth scoffed.

"What do you mean she's stopping-" Before he could finish his question, he looked and noticed that the robots were all armed and aimed at them. He mentally rescinded his question and said, "Okay."

"I know the quickest way to Twelfth!" Rusev said aloud.

"Let's go then!" Stephanie said. With that, everyone began to follow Rusev out of Times Square, carefully passing the many petrified Iron Soldiers that initially stood in their path. AJ then turned to see Cesaro standing in front of her.

"Thank you, April." He said to her. "For your friendship, I owe you more than words can describe." He then stood to his feet, unsheathed his customized sword, and handed it to AJ. "I expect you to hand this back to me personally." AJ smiled at him.

"I will, Claudio." She said to him. "Now hurry and get out of here!" Cesaro shot AJ one of his smirks and ran away to catch up with the rest of the group, leaving AJ back to her self-appointed task of taking on the metal army alone. Once she no longer felt Cesaro's presence in the area, AJ shut her eyes and leapt nearly two stories into the air. She then, in midair, released the telekinetic hold she had over Aksana and all the Iron soldiers. The shots the metal soldiers fired fell upon each other and knocking each other back, the black soldier covering Aksana and keeping her from being hit by the bullets and lasers. Then as AJ descended she Cesaro's sword out and spun around in the fashion of a spinning top, cutting the heads off of several soldiers and then using one falling body to bounce back up into the air. She descended once more and proceeded to sever soldier in half when she landed. AJ charged through the split body to cut another soldier in half at the waist causing sparks to fly from the impact point. One of the robots struck AJ in the back but all the petite woman did was flinch at the attack. She spun around and decapitated the robot along with two others beside it. The woman began to spin and swipe the blade in circular motions, slicing at the limbs and bodies of the cyborgs with every turn she made until only Aksana and her black Iron Soldier were left standing. The cyborg stepped to Aksana's side and she saw AJ standing tall covered in oil from the soldiers' bodies. The look AJ gave Aksana burned a hole into her and angered her.

"You bitch!" Aksana shouted. AJ looked at her with unflinching eyes. Unknown to Aksana, AJ had used a great amount of energy fighting off the cyborg army. AJ needed to buy time to allow her to regain enough energy to endure the inevitable fight with Aksana's last and presumably strongest robot.

* * *

"We're almost there, Everyone!" Rusev shouted as the entire group followed him to the edge of Twelfth Avenue. "Hang on a little bit longer!"

"The choppers will be there waiting for us!" Wilheim shouted back. "I can hear them!"

"Great!" Stephanie said. "Everyone be ready to load up the moment we get there!" That moment, Phil felt an odd feeling in his stomach. It was a feeling he felt when he found out AJ had disappeared the first time she went missing. His pace slowed until The Russian soldiers in the rear all began passing him by. I could not shake the seething feeling of fear until he felt Jagi at his side. Phil looked down at him.

"She's in danger." Phil said. "Isn't she?" Jagi roared low and Phil breathed deep. "I can't leave her. I don't care what she said, if she needs me then I'm gonna be there!" Jagi hesitated briefly before letting out a loud roar. Phil then turned to head back to Times Square with Jagi following close behind. The sound the tiger made got Wade Barrett's attention and he instinctively looked back to see where the noise came from even though he already knew. What he saw, however, alerted him greatly.

"Phil!" He shouted back as he saw Phil and Jagi headed in the opposite direction. "Don't! Come back!" Wade's cry caused the others to turn back as they ran to meet the rescue team.

"Phil!" Triple H shouted. "Are you crazy!? Get your ass back here!" Their cries fell on deaf ears as Phil and Jagi continued their trek back to Times Square.

* * *

"I'm giving you one last chance, Zivile." AJ said to Aksana. "Surrender and I'll personally make sure-" Before AJ could finish, Aksana cut her off.

"I need nothing from you!" The woman shouted. "You've taken everything from me!" Aksana then stepped around her ebony robot and placed her hand on its chest. "All I need from you…is one last breath escaping from your mangled body. He will make that happen for me." Aksana then stepped aside and the Iron Soldier readied itself to attack AJ. AJ eyed the robot with studious eyes as she witnessed it lunge at her with such momentum that it kicked up the rubble beneath it. AJ quickly jumped and rolled out of the robot's trajectory but was hit in the face by its fist before she regained her footing. AJ landed awkwardly on her side and rolled until she stopped in front of a pile of rubble. She struggled slightly to get to her feet and then noticed that she had lost her sword during the attack. AJ was not given a moment to locate it, however, as the Iron Soldier armed its laser and fired it at her. She dove out of the way and continued to dodge the shots by running around behind piles of asphalt until the cyborg stopped to recharge its laser. The brief time frame gave AJ a little time to catch her breath but not without hearing Aksana laugh manically as her robot clearly had the upper hand. AJ cursed to herself as she still needed time to energize herself and she knew dodging the robot's attacks extended the amount of time she needed to do so. In addition, she still had not located her sword. AJ then saw the Iron Soldier jump into the air in an attempt to land on her head as she laid on the ground. She was able to roll out of the way just before the robot landed with an earth shattering crash but was left vulnerable to a kick in the ribs that sent her flying through another pile of asphalt. AJ began to feel the pain of the battle as her body was no longer generating enough energy to protect her from the onslaught. She grabbed her side in pain and Aksana felt a sadistic joy.

"I will finally have my revenge!" Aksana said. "I told you you'd pay for killing my dream!" She then looked at her Iron Soldier and shouted, "Kill her!" AJ then spotted Cesaro's sword several feet away from her but she lacked the energy to retrieve it. She heard the robot ready its laser to fire at her but then heard a gunshot. She then looked up to see that the robot had been shot in its face, causing its laser to malfunction. The robot stumbled and then AJ heard a familiar roar before seeing her white tiger approach her bathed in a calming blue hue. She felt the energy return to her body and then heard another familiar sound.

"April!" It was Phil. He shot the robot to disable it and allow AJ a window of opportunity. "Do it now!" Aksana looked over to see him, pulled out her pistol, and fired at him. Jagi then dove to knock Phil off his feet and out of the way of the bullet. AJ looked over at her family, then at the robot and then at the sword. She knew that was her chance. She quickly ran for the blade, grabbed it, leapt into the air and with one slash she cut the Iron Soldier in half. AJ then ran to her husband's aid.

"Are you alright?" AJ asked him. Phil coughed a few times before he answered her.

"Considering I just got jumped by a tiger," Phil started. "I feel fan-fucking-tastic!"

"I told you to leave."

"Yeah, babe, because telling me to leave has always worked in the past." AJ hugged Phil as tight as she could. Aksana felt her head pulsate with anguish as she watched AJ and Phil. She pulled something out of the pocket in her jacket.

"I will not allow you to mock me!" Aksana shouted as she swiped her finger across the device. AJ had grown tired of the persistent woman. She closed her eyes and said, "Go, Jagi." Phil then watched as Jagi disappeared into its blue light and reappeared in midair behind Aksana. Aksana turned to see Jagi's claws seconds before sunk into her face. She let out terrible screams as the tiger mauled her. AJ and Phil walked up to the bloodied woman as the monstrous feline ended its attack. Aksana was not dead but was mortally wounded, and she used her final moments to relay a cryptic message to the couple.

"You two," She said through fits of spitting up blood. "Will burn with me..." The life drifted from Aksana's eyes slowly as she gasped her final breath. Phil let out a sigh of relief and exhaustion as he held his wife close. AJ then heard a faint sequential beeping sound coming from the device in Aksana's hand. She looked down to examine it.

"What is it?" Phil asked. AJ's eyes widened when she realized what the device was.

"It's a detonator." She told him. "It's timer has two minutes and counting." Phil's heart sank. AJ then looked around and saw the severed heads of all of the fallen Iron Soldiers blinking with red lights. AJ felt a sense of defeat. She then looked to her confused husband. "You have to go, Phil."

"No!" Phil snapped. "Find the bomb, disarm it!"

"Look around, Phil! It isn't just one! It's one thousand. We don't have enough time to disarm all of them." Phil then knew what AJ was thinking. "This explosion will be strong enough to level all of New York City. I don't have enough energy to stop that blast, but I can create an energy field to condense it so it doesn't reach outside the evacuated areas." Phil immediately detested.

"No."

"Phil, there is no time for this!" Phil grabbed AJ's face.

"I'm not leaving you, Apes!" He shouted. "No!" AJ closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"We don't have a choice, Phillip." AJ said sadly. Phil then felt himself be lifted into the air and instantly began fighting the feeling.

"Nooo!" Phil shouted in sheer anguish. "April! Don't do this! Don't leave me! Noooooo!" AJ fought the tears welling up in her eyes as they slowly turned crystal blue

"I love you."

She then used her power to cover Phil in a telekinetic shield and throw him back the way in which he came from. She let her tears fall as his screams faded from her ear. AJ felt Jagi by her side and her turned into determination. AJ began to gather the remaining energy she had to form a shield that grew the more she focused.

* * *

The many rescue helicopters had filled up and begun their take off procedures. In one of the helicopters, a deeply saddened Wade Barrett sat still as one of the rescue soldiers checked his restraints. Ryback, sitting in the seat across from him, tried to console him.

"There was nothing you could do." He said. "It was his choice."

"I told 'em I'd take care of 'em!" Wade shouted, startling Melina who sat next to him. She put her hands around Wade's arm.

"You gotta pull yourself together." She told him. "Ryan is right. There was nothing you could do." The moment the rescue unit motioned to close the helicopter doors, they all witnessed Phil bathed in a blue energy flying from the alleyway into the helicopter. He hit the floor in a daze.

"What the hell?" Zack Ryder shouted as the rescue team quickly went to the aid of the Fallen ex-Superstar. When Phil came to, images of AJ's face flooded his mind and grew historical.

"April!" He shouted as he shuffled under the rescue team's grasps. Wade quickly released his restraints and ran to help his friend.

"Where is she?" Wade asked. "Phil!"

"Get back in your seat!" One rescue member said to Wade, only to be ignored.

"We gotta take off!" Another member shouted. "Let's go!" They proceeded to close the doors and Phil darted for them.

"Open the fucking doors!" Phil shouted as he beat on the doors. Wade did his best to hold Phil at bay. "Get the fuck off me! Let me go!" All the helicopters took flight and began to take their leave, and Phil shouted to the top of his lungs. "April! Don't leave her! Turn around! April!" Phil then began shaking and broke down into uncontrollable tears as Wade pulled him into his chest. "April." A feeling of empathy filled the helicopter as Phil cried his soul into Wade's shoulder.

In one of the other helicopters, everyone sat thinking silently. Triple H held his wife Stephanie close to him as she quietly mourned the death of her mother. She then looked over to a medical carriage and in that carriage was a severely beaten but alive Vince McMahon. Triple H then turned her head away from her father and into his chest. Everyone then heard Nikki Bella speak with awe in her voice.

"Look!" She said. "What is that?" Everyone who was able to do so looked out of the window to where Nikki was pointing and saw a large blue energy field engulfing what looked like all of Times Square.

"That's AJ!" Brie shouted. "That's her!"

* * *

AJ used every ounce of energy in her to hold the force field but felt her energy leaving her.

"No!" She cursed. "I have to keep fighting!" AJ felt her energy grow and used it to continue to strengthen the barrier. She then looked down at the detonator... Thirteen seconds. Twelve. Eleven. "Thank you staying with me Jagi." Nine. Jagi stood from its position and began emit a bright blue hue. Seven. The same hue covered AJ's entire body. Six. "Jagi?" Five. Four. Jagi then bursted into a brilliant light that covered AJ. Three. Two. One...

* * *

Everyone in the helicopters then saw a gargantuan explosion fill the inside of the barrier, the mushroom cloud spreading throughout the entire space.

"April!" Cesaro shouted as he looked on.

Phil felt the subdued shockwave shake the helicopter and heard the explosion as it sounded off. He jumped up to look out the window and see the fiery blast engulf the area within the blue force field.

"Nooooo!" Phil shouted as he pummeled the door. Wade again struggled to hold him down, Phil fighting as the Brit pulled him away from the door. Phil then used all his strength to punch Wade in the face, causing him to release his grip. Summer Rae and Ryback went to Wade's aid as Phil darted for the door and tried to open it. He yanked and pulled all the while yelling his wife's name, calling out for her in pain and agony.

"April! April! No!" Paige and Celeste ran to attempt to console the man while also preparing for any strikes he might have thrown. Instead, Phil fell to the ground in tears and the two women held onto him.

"Phil" Paige shouted in her thick British accent as herself fought back tears. "Stop it! Please!"

"Why didn't you turn around?" Phil screamed. "We could have saved her!" Everyone remained silent as Phil's pain seeped into all of their souls. "April..."

The force field that contained the blast flickered before ultimately disappearing and allowing the remaining smoke to fill the stagnant air of Times Square...


	24. As It Should Be

**A/N I: The final chapter. :( It has been a great run with this story. I hoped you all enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you all for your support. :)**

**A/N II: The video tribute was an actual tribute created by a collaboration of EddySpeedingProductions and xXxCandiiDiivaxXx (Both of which have Youtube accounts). You can watch the video tribute here (Replace the Underscores with periods and remove the spaces around the Backslash).**

**www_youtube_com / watch?v=Xn3LyUv6qrI**

**A/N III: AJ's alternate theme can be heard here. It was remixed by DollPhancy on YouTube (Again, replace the Underscores with periods and remove the spaces around the Backslash).**

**www_youtube_com / watch?v=DkXvv0zIOao**

"I am standing here in front of all of you….admitting my wrongs. I will take the blame for all of the recent events dealing with World Wrestling Entertainment and I agree to relinquish all documentation pertaining to the company to Paul and Stephanie Levesque. I claim responsibility for the dealings with the incident at the bistro in New York that resulted in the deaths of twelve people. I am responsible for the death of Brian Danielson and I am willing to pay his wife, Brianna Danielson, for damages and detriment. In regard, I know that no amount of money can destroy the grief and pain of his loss. I am responsible for the attack on the home and family of my daughter, Stephanie Levesque, and her husband, Paul Levesque, and will pay for all damages caused to their home and their family as well as any damages done to Dwayne Johnson and his daughter Simone Johnson. I am ready and willing to face the consequences of my ties with illegal foreign nationals as well as the contamination and death of April Jeanette Brooks. Every allegation tied to me after the events that occurred this past month is true and I prepared to face the penalties for my actions. That is all."

Vince McMahon, still bandaged after nearly a month of healing from the beating he received from his daughter, stood at the podium facing the river of reporters and news consultants who began to flood him with questions. He looked around the street filled with people as the questions continued to be thrown at him from all directions. Vince then felt a tap on his arm then balled up his mouth and shut his eyes before speaking into the microphone again.

"No further questions, thank you." With that statement, Vince and several officials turned and headed into the court building behind them. The news reporters attempted to follow but the police officers guarding the entryway halted their advance.

* * *

"We are awaiting the conclusion of the trial of former World Wrestling Entertainment owner Vince McMahon. He is facing charges for acts of Terrorism as well as several counts of Slander, Embezzlement, over one-hundred counts of Third-Degree Murder, and three counts of First-Degree Murder as far as we are aware at the present time. We will continue to cover this story as we receive more news regarding the case. This is Allison Kelly for Channel 18 news."

Triple H and Stephanie were watching the news story attentively when it cut to an anchorman sitting at a desk discussing other news. The power couple along with the Superstars and Divas involved with the past events spent nearly three weeks after they returned home dealing with Vince McMahon and the court proceedings until they were no longer needed. It was then that Triple H decided to start the shows again. He made the proper changes to the schedule and instructed everyone to make their way to the next venue for the live taping of RAW. Stephanie turned off the television and then turned to her husband.

"Paul." She said calmly. "Are we ready to start everything up again? I mean, did we give them all enough time?"

"We told them if they needed more time," Triple H started. "We would give it to them. Everyone refused and said they were ready."

"What about-" Triple H raised his hand.

"Everything will be fine. It's time we all move on from all that. We have an obligation to the fans of the company. We have to do this." Stephanie nodded.

"Alright." She agreed. "Is it about time to go?" Triple H looked at his watch.

"Yeah. Let's make our way down to the ramp." Stephanie locked her arm with his and the two proceeded to walk out of the office with their heads held high. Outside the office, both the Main Roster and the NXT Roster along with Celeste, her husband PJ, Steve Austin, Dwayne and his daughter Simone, Trish Stratus, Lita, and the rehired Ethan Carter III (then known again as Derrick Bateman), Melina, and John Morrison stood on both sides of the hallway watching the two owners as they walked down the hallway and following them as they passed.

* * *

The many fans in the arena were buzzing as they waited for the show to begin. At the announcer's table, Michael Cole and JBL waited patiently for their cue. One of the security officers shuffled over to the table to hand Michael Cole a microphone, signaling to him that it was time. Both JBL and he stood up out of their chairs and from behind their table.

"WWE Universe." Michael began, causing the crowd to slowly quiet. "We are asking that all of you, including those of you at home watching tonight, to focus your attention to the ramp as we pay tribute to the wonderful and truly inspiring April "AJ" Brooks." The crowd began to roar after hearing AJ's name. Then the audience saw the entire roster walked out on the ramp with Triple H and Stephanie leading them all. Once all of them were out on the ramp, everyone turned their attention to the Titantron and a video showcase began to play.

* * *

"I have wanted this my entire life and I have fought to get here..." Photos of AJ slowly flashed upon the screen. "And there is not one thing that is ever going to stop me because I will…be back and I'm going to accomplish all of my dreams."

"Six…Sixteen…Thirteen….The day I became Diva's Champion." A clip of AJ lifting the Diva's Championship in victory played through. "I worked my entire life." Photos of AJ and her family showed on the screen. "I gave my life for this."

"I am a woman who knows how to get exactly what she wants and that is an example to women everywhere!" Several clips of AJ played during her words. "There is not a woman in this audience….There is not a woman in that locker room…there's not a woman in the whole world who is as strong…brilliant…as courageous as I am."

"I have gone from being a poor girl in New Jersey…to being the best Diva in the world!" Clips of some of AJ's greatest moments played over an emotional soundtrack. "I didn't get here…because I sucked up to the right people. I got here because I am good."

"I have saved your Diva's Division." Clips of several of AJ's attacks and matches played. "You are all worthless excuses for women….and that…is reality." Clips of her promos and matches played in a cinematic fashion.

"I earned this championship….And you know what, no matter how many red carpets you wanna walk in your four-thousand dollar ridiculous heels, you will never be able to lace up my Chuck Taylors." More clips played as the audience marveled at the tribute.

"The two-thousand fourteen Slammy Award for Diva of the year goes to….AJ." It showed AJ accepting the award.

"Three years ago, I promised all of you that I would redefine the term 'Diva' and I am very proud to say that I sure have done that. You can be a nerd, you can be a tomboy, and you can still be the longest reigning Divas Champion of all time. So I hope next year, this award is won by…Bayley, or Sasha." The Titantron showed a clip of Sasha. "Or Charlotte." A clip of Charlotte was shown next. "Or Emma." It then showed a clip of Emma. "Or Paige." A clip of Paige holding the NXT Diva's Championship played through. "Any of those girls can be next in line for the throne…But I'm not done being queen." Several more clips of AJ's career with the WWE played as the music picked up. Then the screen flashed white and the words "Thank you AJ" beaming over photos of the Diva graced the audience's eyes. With that, the video tribute ended and the crowd chanted for AJ.

* * *

"If you will," Michael Cole said. "Please join us in a moment of silence." Silence filled the arena as everyone looked to the Titantron. The Ring bell then sounded.

…Ding…

The camera showed Lana and the Bella Twins fighting back tears as the bell sounded.

…Ding…

The camera then panned to Paige and Bo Dallas. Bo balled up his mouth as he looked at the photo while Paige allowed the tears to fall down her face and ruin her makeup.

…Ding…

A shot of a section of the audience was shown. One of the adults' little girl was crying heavily.

…Ding…

Another section of the audience was featured.

…Ding…Ding…

Trish Stratus was shown with tears in her eyes as she gazed at the Titantron.

…Ding…Ding…

A shot of the entire roster on the ramp looking at the Titantron was seen as the bell rung two final times.

…Ding…Ding…

The Arena filled with cheers from the WWE fans. They all then saw the Superstars, Divas, and Legends stand on each side of the ramp and look toward the stage. Moments later, a familiar theme song played and the crowd erupted. The song played…was Cult of Personality. The arena full of fans eagerly awaited the person attached to the theme, and they were not let down. Sure enough from behind the Mini-Tron walked AJ's husband Phillip "Phil" Brooks, the man eternally known by the WWE Universe as CM Punk dawning one of his own signature hooded jackets, blue jeans, and a pair of black Chuck Taylors as if paying homage to his late wife. He looked around the arena and soaked in the response his presence solicited before kneeling down, lifting his sleeve up, looking at his wrist as if checking the time, and yelling "It's clobberin' time!". Phil jumped to his feet and raised his hand in the air as the Superstars and Divas around him applauded him. He walked down the ramp with a large smile on his face and climbed under the ropes into the ring. He grabbed the microphone sitting in the middle of the ring and looked around as the fans chanted his name. The feeling it brought to him nearly caused him to cry before he held the microphone to his mouth to speak.

"Did you guys really miss me that much?" Phil asked rhetorically in his snarky manner, eliciting a gargantuan response from the crowd. The man in the ring smiled and rubbed his chin. "I figured ya did. I read the tweets, I read the articles, I heard the chants night in and night out…'CM Punk…. CM Punk … CM Punk …' I heard your cries and gotta say it choked me up." His words started up a monstrous chant. He waited about a minute before speaking again. "However, the most important cry I heard…was my wife's." Phil drew the microphone away from his face as the crowd chanted AJ's name. "That's right. She would ask me time and time again. She would nag and nag and nag and nag, she would bitch and bitch and bitch…and bitch…and then bitch some more! She'd say, 'When are you coming back? Are you seriously not coming back? Ya know they see you when they see me. They still chant your name. They cheer for you when they see me.' She would say that over and over and over again. Then I would watch her skip out here every night to see all of you and sometimes I'd think to myself." He paused briefly. "Ultimately…it was…it was April. April is the reason that I am standing here in this ring right now talking to all of you. She is why I put the past behind me to do what I love doing the most-" Phil then pointed to the entire WWE Roster on the ramp. "-and that's being in this ring kicking all their asses!"

The crowd roared as Phil officially declared his return to the company in classic fashion, and his fellow Superstars played up his comment about beating them as everyone expected. Everyone then saw Phil ball up his mouth and look up to the ceiling. That moment, the crowd began to chant AJ's name, and the emotions filling Phil's head began to bleed out into his speech.

"Ya see, April inspired me to do what I want, live how I want, say what I want, and not give a damn about what others think about me! I am a weird man in okay shape who loves comics and video games and just happens to have the mind of a maniacal genius with the mouth of the opposite. In fact, I'm just like most of you in this arena." The man behind the microphone received a pleasant reaction. "If I can do it, then so can you. That was the message April gave me day in and day out. Every night she came out here and gave you all the show of your lives, she reminded each and every one of us that hard work and dedication can make any dream come true. This was the same message she gave to all of you." The crowd cheered as they absorbed Phil's words of his late wife. "You guys all lived out here through her! She was your success story… and she was my love story." Phil managed to withhold tears as he paused a moment for the fans to cheer for him. "You all cheered for me…while she was out here. Well, now the shoe is on the other foot. Now I'm out here ….so I want all of you to give her what she deserves." Everyone, including the Superstars and Divas, in the arena gradually began chanting AJ's name just as they did for Phil when she was in the ring. Phil smiled and looked up to the ceiling. He then joined in the chanting of AJ's name.

"AJ! AJ! AJ! AJ!" Everyone shouted. After that moment, everyone saw the lights flicker before ultimately going out and seeing the Titantron light up. A brief moment passed and everyone heard a tiger's roar flow out of the speakers all around the arena, startling several fans. All of them then heard an unmistakable voice speak out.

"I'm not done being queen." Electric instruments began to play melodically and the top of the ramp flashed in tune with the beat of the music as pink and violet spotlights danced around the arena. A silhouette was seen on the stage through all the flashes and as the music picked up, everyone recognized it. The second they heard the next part of the song, however, the arena filled with a gargantuan roar.

…"Let's Light It Up!"…

The lights came back on and there on the stage stood AJ Lee standing with her back to the cameras as the Titantron played her entrance video. She wore her signature decoratively torn t-shirt, cropped jean shorts, and Black athletically-altered Chuck Taylors with striped socks. Her long black hair was slung over her right shoulder, allowing the camera to see the face of Jagi, her fallen tiger companion, in mid roar on the back of her shirt. AJ turned around with immense energy and faced her fans with a large open smile on her face, her hair flying back behind her as she spun around. On the front of her shirt, the words "Hear Me Roar" were embroidered in orange and red stitching in the mimicry of flames. Jerry Lawler, JBL, and Michael Cole were in disbelief as neither of them knew AJ would be alive much less in the arena.

"I don't believe this!" Jerry said as AJ began skipping down the ramp with all of her fellow Superstars and Divas cheering her down to the ring. She stopped at the bottom of the ramp and looked at her husband, Phil. He was filled with as much as joy and surprise as the screaming unsuspecting fans while he stood in the middle of the ring with an uncontrollable smile on his face. AJ put on a smile of her own as she hopped onto the apron and entered the ring to look her husband in his tear-drawn face. Then, as her music faded and the arena cheered her name, AJ leapt into her husband's arms and the two of them cried into each other's shoulder as their reunion came to be.

"I thought I lost you!" Phil said as he held onto AJ

"I know, babe!" AJ replied. She then leapt out of her husband's arms and reached her hand out to him as if asking for something. He looked in his hand and noticed he was still holding the microphone. He slowly handed it to AJ as the crowd continued to chant her name. AJ fixed her hair back behind her and held the microphone up to speak.

"Sorry bout that." AJ said jokingly. "Had to get it in with the hubby for a minute." She waited briefly as the fans laughed and cheered for her. "All of you know about everything that went on with me, with Vince, and with everything else by now. When I got up from out of that rubble and realized that I survived, the first thing that came to my mind… wasn't 'O-M-G! I have to tell the press!' or 'Where is everyone?' No. The very first image that came to my head…" She then pointed to Phil. "…was this man…and each and every one of you!" The crowd roared as AJ circled around the ring. "You guys are why I started this. You guys are why I kept going and fighting through everything that was set in my way from what happened with Vince to what happened in New York City." She stopped in front of Phil. "I'm not here for me! I'm here for you. I am not going anywhere! I'm gonna be here until I take my last bump, lock in my last Black Widow, give my last promo, and skip my last skip! When I take my last breath and speak my last word, those words will be…" AJ then began to tear up. "…Thank you. Thank you all for supporting me through what I've gone through to make it here. Thank you all for being what I needed when I needed it. Thank you all for believing in me. My message has always been 'You can get whatever you want in life if you want to work for it' and I truly believe that all of you can be whatever you want to be! You can be a Superstar, you can be a Diva, you can be a singer or a songwriter, you can be an astronaut. You can be reporters, teachers, leaders, trendsetters! We can be whatever we want and it doesn't matter where we came from, who our family is, what we look like, what we believe in, or any of that because we all breathe the same air and bleed the same color. You all believed in me and I can never thank you for it, but now it's time to believe in yourselves because it isn't just my time…it's our time. This moment is a moment we all share together!"

AJ dropped the microphone away from her mouth and soaked in the standing ovation she received from the arena for her speech. She let out an airy laugh as tears began to roll down her face and turned to see her husband staring at her with joyous tears in his eyes and a loving smile on his face. Phil then looked past AJ at the ramp to see both Paige and Bayley running for the ring. The two women slid underneath the ropes, stood to their feet, and ran to wrap their friend as well as themselves in an emotional hug. Cesaro, choosing to jump onto the ramp, chanted "Geek Goddess" and pumped his fist into the air. His chants were soon echoed by the other Superstars and Divas followed by the arena until everyone was chanting AJ's self-appointed title. Then Paige and Bayley proceeded to lift AJ into the air and sit her on Phil's shoulders. AJ raised her hand in victory and joined in with the chant.

"Geek Goddess! Geek Goddess! Geek Goddess! Geek Goddess!"


End file.
